Grumpy Editor

NO KIDDING: GIANT RAT GETS AWARD FOR ANIMAL BRAVERY

 

Rat wins medal for bravery.

 

Magawa, a giant African pouched rat, was awarded a veterinary charity’s top civilian award for animal bravery after sniffing out and detecting 39 land mines and 28 items of unexploded ordnance in Cambodia, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

During his seven-year career, he helped clear more than 1.5 million square feet, the equivalent of 20 soccer fields. 

 

He was hailed as a "hero rat” with the presentation of the medal from People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), a veterinary charity in the United Kingdom.

 

"The PDSA Animal Awards program seeks to raise the status of animals in society and honor the incredible contribution they make to our lives,” said director general Jan McLoughlin.  "Magawa's dedication, skill and bravery are an extraordinary example of this and deserve the highest possible recognition."

 

Magawa was cited for dedication, skill and “life-saving bravery and devotion to duty.”

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

 

SOPHIA LOREN FACES MOVIE CAMERAS.  Italian actress Sophia Loren, 86, returns to movies playing a Holocaust survivor who befriends an orphan in a Netflix film The Life Ahead, directed by her son Edoardo Ponti.

 

STRANDED DOG RESCUED FROM BRIDGE.  A bridge inspector rescues a dog that was stranded 120 feet above the Mississippi River on the Natchez--Vidalia Bridge. The Natchez Police Department says the dog, in good shape, was adopted soon after her rescue.

 

END OF AN ERA IN TINSELTOWN.  Two longtime Hollywood trade publications, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, will be on the same team following a merger of publishers.

 

ARMY INFANTRY SCHOOL MELLOWS.  Army infantry recruits no longer will have drill sergeants barking orders at them inches from their faces during basic training as the “shark attack” technique, which uses intimidation to establish authority and weeds out the weak, is dropped in favor of a new approach called “The First 100 Yards,” which seeks to develop mental and physical toughness, instill pride in the infantry, and build trust among recruits and their leaders, reports Stars and Stripes.

 

WOODWARD'S BOOK REACHES FOURTH PRINTING.  Publisher Simon & Schuster says Bob Woodward’s "Rage" sold 600,000 copies in the U.S. in the first week, and ordered a fourth printing that will bring the number of hardcover copies to 1.3 million.

 

NIXON SANDWICH PRESERVED.  Steve Jenne celebrated an unusual milestone last week — 60 years holding onto a sandwich that former President Richard Nixon once munched.  Jenne, of Sullivan, Illinois, was a 14-year-old Boy Scout when the then-vice president made a campaign stop to Jenne’s hometown, leaving a half-eaten sandwich which Jenne picked up and preserved.

 

N.Y. TIMES CHAIRMAN TO RETIRE.  The New York Times chairman, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., retires at year-end and will be replaced by his son, A.G. Sulzberger, Times publisher.  The elder Sulzberger has been chairman since 1997 and was publisher from 1992 to 2017, when he was replaced by his son.

 

HALLOWEEN CANDY SALES UP.  U.S. sales of Halloween candy are up 13 percent from last year in the month ended Sept. 6.   Sales of Halloween chocolate alone are up 25 percent.

 

BABY BORN ON AIRLINER GETS TICKETS FOR LIFE.  A baby girl born on an EgyptAir flight traveling from Cairo to London will be given free airline tickets for life, at least to Munich, says the carrier.

 

BONUS REPORT NOT TRUE.  Poynter reports “employees of Tribune Publishing are furious, and rightfully so, over something that happened Wednesday.  After seeing Tribune Publishing slash jobs in recent years, employees received an email that they were getting bonuses. So why were they angry? Because it wasn’t true but a test to see if the company is vulnerable to a phishing scam." 

 

DESERT SUN PRINTING SHIFTS TO ARIZONA.  Palm Springs, Calif.-based Desert Sun newspaper is moving its printing operations to Phoenix, Arizona, 260 miles away.

 

READY TO VOTE FROM SPACE.  NASA astronaut Kate Rubins says she plans to cast her next vote from space --- more than 200 miles above Earth.

SURVEY: POLICE-PROTESTERS CONFRONTATIONS GRAB MOST ATTENTION

The upcoming election, unusual weather and forest fires news stories have been competing for Americans’ attention in recent weeks but the public is more likely to have heard “a lot” about ongoing confrontations between police and protesters, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

That’s the finding of a Pew Research Center survey of almost 10,000 adults conducted Aug. 31 to Sept. 7.

 

About eight-in-10 adults (78%) say they have heard or read a lot about ongoing confrontations between law enforcement and protesters in cities around the country, finds Pew.

 

By comparison, smaller shares of adults say they have heard or read a lot about how increased mail-in voting could affect the 2020 presidential election (64%); President Donald Trump’s criticism of the U.S. Postal Service and his administration’s actions toward it (49%); attempts in Congress to pass another economic relief and stimulus bill (40%); and the Trump administration considering banning the social media app TikTok (40%). 

 

The survey of 9,220 adults was conducted as part of the Center’s American News Pathways project.

 

Overall, 41% of adults say recent protests related to racial inequality have received too much attention from news organizations, while 36% say they have received the right amount and 23% say they have received too little.

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

STUDENT LOCALES SHOW HIGHER VIRUS RATES.  Among the 50 U.S. counties with the highest shares of students and overall population of at least 50,000, 20 have consistently reported higher virus rates than their states, finds an Associated Press analysis.

MOST YOUNG ADULTS FUZZY ON HOLOCAUST.  Nearly two-thirds (63%) of young American adults are not aware that 6 million Jewish victims died during the Holocaust in World War II.  That’s the finding in a study commissioned by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, also known as the Claims Conference.

IMPORTANCE OF FACE MASKS CITED.  Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, emphasizes the importance of wearing face masks, saying, “I will continue to appeal for all Americans, all individuals in our country, to embrace these face coverings. ... [I]f we did it for six, eight, 10, 12 weeks, we'd bring this pandemic under control.” 

 

MORE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS SEEN THIS YEAR.  A Rasmussen Reports survey finds 45% of U.S. voters are more likely to contribute time or money to a political campaign this year vs. 34% two years ago.

 

FOX TRIMS STAFF.  Fox News Media expects to cut less than 3% of its overall staff as the unit, the financial engine of parent Fox Corp., works to make its operations more efficient. Fox News’ hair and makeup staffers are said to be the most affected.   Fox guests will no longer receive make-up and hair services, which are being relegated to anchors and contributors.

 

SUBARU MODEL ATTRACTS TICKETS.  A study from insurance comparison site Insurify, that looked over 2 million insurance applications, finds drivers of the Subaru WRX compact sports car are more likely to get a speeding ticket.

 

CULTURE AND TALENT M.E. NAMED.  The Los Angeles Times appoints reporter Angel Jennings as the newspaper’s first assistant managing editor for culture and talent.  It’s part of The Times’ efforts to reform hiring practices, increase staff diversity and overhaul how it treats Black and Latino journalists and communities.

SHUTDOWN ORDER REVERSED, STARS AND STRIPES WILL CONTINUE TO BE PUBLISHED

Stars and Stripes is a major source of news for military.

 

After several top media sources early this month indicated President Donald Trump sought to pull funding from Stars and Stripes, a worldwide newspaper for American troops, the Defense Department is rescinding its order to shut down the military's independent newspaper, observes Grumpy Editor.

 

The action occurs after the president dispatched this tweet:  "The United States of America will NOT be cutting funding to @starsandstripes magazine under my watch,” adding, "It will continue to be a wonderful source of information to our Great Military!”

 

As Grumpy Editor pointed out last week, the president referred to Stars and Stripes as a magazine, indicating he is not familiar with the daily newspaper.

 

In an email to Stripes' publisher Max Lederer, Army Colonel Paul Haverstick said the paper does not have to submit a plan to close.

 

Haverstick, acting director of the Pentagon's Defense Media Activity, said a formal memo is being drafted that will rescind the order to halt publication by Sept. 30 and dissolve the organization by the end of January. 

 

Trump's tweet came as he fought off accusations, first reported by The Atlantic, that he called service members killed in World War I "losers" and "suckers" during an event in France in 2018.

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

A FIRST FOR WALL STREET.  Jane Fraser will be the first woman to lead one of Wall Street's big six banks.  She takes over as CEO of Citigroup in February.

 

VETERANS UPSET WITH WHITE HOUSE MOVING FLAG.  A Trump administration decision to move the flag honoring missing war veterans from a prominent position atop the White House to a less visible spot on the South Lawn angers some veterans and lawmakers, who see it as disrespectful and potentially illegal.

 

BRIT HUME SIGNS MULTI-YEAR DEAL. Fox News signs Brit Hume to a new multi-year deal to remain as the network’s senior political analyst. 

 

EISENHOWER MEMORIAL NEARS UNVEILING.  The long-awaited presidential memorial honoring Dwight D. Eisenhower will be dedicated and unveiled in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 17, more than 20 years after Congress commissioned it.

 

CAT NAPS TAKE BACK SEAT.  An Army study finds catching up on sleep by taking cat naps during the day isn’t as beneficial to the brain as getting a good night’s sleep, and could increase the risk of developing neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. 

 

AMAZON TO HIRE 33,000.   Amazon says it will hire 33,000 additional corporate and technology workers at an average compensation of $150,000.  That includes salary and stock.

 

McCLATCHY RARE BOOKS AUCTION SET.  Rare books and first-hand accounts of California history will be sold Sept. 16 as part of an online auction of property from the estate of C.K. McClatchy, head of McClatchy newspapers, who died in 1989 at age 62.

 

CUSTOMS DESTROYS ALLIGATOR HANDBAG.   An $18,900 alligator skin handbag is destroyed by customs officials in Australia because its owner did not have a required $50 importation permit.

 

STORY ON PENTAGON CLOSING STARS AND STRIPES NEWSPAPER STIRS ACTION

Grumpy Editor notes a Friday article in USA TODAY stirred some White House reaction with the headline and subhead:  "The Pentagon has ordered Stars and Stripes to shut down for no good reason.  Trump wants to pull funding from Stars and Stripes, a newspaper for American troops that began in the Civil War and has been serving our soldiers.

Then a few hours later President Donald Trump said he planned to reverse Pentagon budget cuts that would have permanently closed Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper that has informed and spoken for American troops over the decades.

 

The USA TODAY story mentioned, "Under Defense Department spending plans, the paper would cease print and online publication by Sept. 30, a move seen as expanding the Trump administration’s war on news media to include those paid by the government to cover the military.”

 

The Wall Street Journal and Associated Press later carried similar stories on Stars and Stripes.

 

Trump late Friday tweeted, "The United States of America will NOT be cutting funding to @starsandstripes magazine under my watch,” adding, “It will continue to be a wonderful source of information to our Great Military!”

 

Grumpy Editor observes Trump, curiously, described Stars and Stripes as a magazine, not a daily newspaper distributed around the world to U.S. troops.

 

That means Trump is not familiar with Stars and Stripes.

 

The newspaper, headquartered in Washington and a souce of information for American troops since the Civil War, publishes four daily print editions for military service members with European, Middle Eastern, Japanese and South Korean editions. 

 

 

 IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

 

COLD AIR TO HIT DENVER.  A strong cold front is expected to smack Denver with a 62-degree drop in the temperature, from 99 degrees on Friday to 37 degrees tomorrow.

 

PORTLAND REACHES 100 NIGHTS OF PROTESTS.  Portland, Oregon, on Saturday reaches the 100th consecutive night of protests that escalates into a riot as people hurled multiple fire bombs, mortars, rocks and other items at police officers.

 

GIRL SWIMS ENGLISH CHANNEL IN 14 HOURS.  Vera Rivard, a 16-year-old from Springfield, New Hampshire, swims 33 miles across the English Channel --- from Dover to Calais --- in 14 hours.

 

FOX NEWS GETS HIGHEST RATINGS IN AUGUST.  Fox News in August was the most-watched TV network in all of primetime, averaging 3.63 million viewers.

 

BLACK WWII MARINE RECEIVES MEDAL.  Ambrose “Cowboy” Anderson of Gloversville, N.Y., a 95-year-old World War II veteran, one of the nation’s first African-American U.S. Marines, receives a medal and a car parade from the New York Senate as a birthday present.

 

FREE RIDES IN L.A. MULLED.  Free public transit in Los Angeles?  As ridership falls during the pandemic, officials are convening a task force to study the possibility of going fare-ffee.

 

WITH NO VISITORS, AQUARIUM CUTS STAFF.  At California’s Monterey Bay Aquarium, sea animals are happy during the pandemic, but business is tanking.  With the aquarium missing its entire summer tourism season, its finances are hit, triggering more than a third of its staff to be laid off or furloughed.