Grumpy Editor

2020 ALSO KNOWN AS THE YEAR OF SCAMS

As year 2020 bows out, among other things it will be known as the year of scams, notes Grumpy Editor.

The Federal Trade Commission tallies consumers lost an estimated $1 billion in schemes during the pandemic since January.

 

Officials figure only a small fraction of ripped-off customers report losses to authorities.

 

Main targets are seniors and retirees, Blacks and Latinos, immigrants, military families and students.

 

“There are people out there whose job it is to steal your money, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh tells Associated Press.

 

Frosh points out a growing number of cases involve affinity fraud that is a form of pyramid scheme in which consumers are urged to tap friends, family and members of their church or ethnic community for money in addition to their own payment.

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

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ARMY CANNON HITS DISTANT TARGET.  A U.S. Army cannon hits a target 43.5 miles away, marking a milestone in the push to develop longer range artillery.  Service leaders have said long-range precision fires from ground forces are an important part of a modernization effort to give forces “a decisive advantage” in future battles. Design work on a final version of the cannon could be finished next year.

 

AFGHANISTAN BEATS U.S., SAYS TRUMP.   President Donald Trump, tweeting from his vacation in Florida on Friday, says that the United States isn’t as good as war-torn, Taliban-infested Afghanistan, reports Mediaite.

D.C. MEMORIAL HONORS JOURNALISTS KILLED. President Donald Trump signs a bill authorizing a monument honoring journalists killed while reporting the news.   The Fallen Journalists Memorial Act, which passed through Congress with bipartisan support earlier this month, permits the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation to plan and raise funds for the construction of a memorial in Washington, D.C.

 

GEN. LEE STATUE REMOVED.  A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, that represented Virginia in the U.S. Capitol for 111 years is removed, following the request from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam.  It follows a decision that Lee is not a fitting symbol for the state.

 

FINANCIAL TIMES CUTS STAFF.  The Financial Times, an international daily newspaper, reportedly is cutting 64 jobs, including 20 editorial positions.

 

U.S. AIRBORNE SOLDIERS AID GERMAN MOTORIST.  Five U.S. 101st Airborne Division soldiers flying over rural Germany near Fabrikschleichach, a Bavarian town, spot a while puff of smoke on the ground, the result of a car rolling over three times.  The aircraft lands in a nearby muddy farm field and one of the soldiers runs to the vehicle and aids a German man on the ground beside the vehicle.

 

WOMAN TO COMMAND NUCLEAR-POWERED AIRCRAFT CARRIER.  Navy Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt, is selected to be the first woman to command a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, San Diego-based USS Abraham Lincoln, the fifth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier in the Navy.  Bauernschmidt previously served from 2016 to 2019 as the Lincoln’s executive officer, another first for a woman.  She is a 1994 graduate from the Naval Academy.

 

 

 

NAVY PLANS TO BUILD 82 SHIPS BY 2026

Not widely covered by media, the Defense Department announces the Navy plans to build 82 ships by 2026 at a cost of $147 billion, notes Grumpy Editor.

The shipbuilding plan includes three attack submarines, four large unmanned surface vessels, development of light amphibious warships and retirement of most of the Navy's current cruisers.

Observers  say the ambitious plan, based on a classified study presented to Congress earlier this month, will likely initiate a battle in Congress between the Navy and other U.S. service branches over funding.

"The plan calls for a larger fleet of both manned and unmanned vessels prepared to face greater challenges on, above or under the sea, by accelerating submarine construction, modernizing aircraft, extending the service life of cruisers and increasing the number of destroyers," says David L. Norquist, deputy secretary of defense.

The Defense Department adds, “The Navy will still sail proven, traditional capabilities, such as attack submarines, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and air wings, and logistics forces, but the study also looked at building more small multi-mission combatants.”  

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

POPULATION, MEDIAN AGE EDGE UP.  U.S. population increased about 8 percent --- to 332.6 million people --- over the past decade, reveals the Census Bureau.   Median age edges up to 38.5 years, vs. 37.2 in 2010.

 

YES, SAME AFGHANISTAN.  On Saturday, five rockets are fired at Bagram Airfield, major U.S. base in Afghanistan.  Grumpy Editor finds many things don’t change in the world after viewing “Enchantment,” a 1948 movie that takes place during World War II.  In the movie, actor David Niven plays a military officer informed that he is going to --- Afghanistan. 

 

MONARCH BUTTERFLY RECOGNIZED.  Federal officials declare the monarch butterfly is a candidate for threatened or endangered status with action likely in the years ahead.

  

TOO MANY WOMEN WORKERS BRING FINE.  City hall in Paris, France, is fined about $110,000 for appointing too many women to top positions in 2018.

 

DAYTIME TV IS SECOND PRIME TIME NOW.  With the pandemic resulting in more people at home, ratings-research firm Nielsen says daytime is a second prime time --- with an audience with much higher spending power.

MARINES WITHOUT TANKS?  U.S. Marines plan to shed its heavy armor (battle tanks) battalions as part of a 10-year redesign.

COYOTE VISITS FIRE STATION.  Firefighters in a Fort Lauderdale station are surprised to find an unusual visitor wandering through their firehouse --- a coyote.  It is surprising since the station is in a dense urban neighborhood about a mile from the beach.  The coyote soon ran out of the station.

BUSINESSMAN PAYS UTILITY BILLS.  Gulf Breeze, Florida, business owner Michael Esmond covers overdue utility bills for 114 families at risk of losing service in the holiday season.  Esmond, owner of Gulf Breeze Pools & Spa near Pensacola, donates $7,615 as the city faces an economic downturn caused by the pandemic and Hurricane Sally.

WORD OF THE YEAR IS PANDEMIC, NOTES MERRIAM-WEBSTER

 

“Pandemic” is the 2020 word of the year, reveals Merriam-Webster, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

“Often the big news story has a technical word that’s associated with it and in this case, the word pandemic is not just technical but has become general. It’s probably the word by which we’ll refer to this period in the future,” Peter Sokolowski, editor at large for Merriam-Webster, tells the Associated Press. 

 

When the World Health Organization on March 11 declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic, lookups for pandemic spiked hugely, adds Sokolowski, pointing out site interest for the word has remained significantly high through the year.

Sokolowski says pandemic, with roots in Latin and Greek, is a combination of “pan,” for all, and “demos,” for people or population. The word dates to the mid-1600s, used broadly for “universal” and more specifically to disease in a medical text in the 1660s, he mentions.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

GANNETT JOBS GOING TO INDIA.  Gannett informs its business side employees that 485 of their jobs will be outsourced to Hyderabad, India, early next year.

CHINA DETAINS BLOOMBERG NEWS WORKER.  Authorities in China detain Haze Fan, a Chinese citizen working at the Bloomberg News bureau in Beijing since 2017, on suspicion of endangering national security.

MOUNTAIN LION CUBS RESETTLED.  Three mountain lion cubs, rescued from wildfires in California, are settling into their new home at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium after FedEx transported them from California.

MACAW IN ARIZONA DRAWS ATTENTION.  A wandering macaw is rescued by members of Arizona’s Pima Animal Care Center (PACC).  Initially, the colorful bird evades rescuers by perching on tall trees.  But the bird is captured when it settles into a shorter tree. When captured, the parrot ---  common in Central and South America --- was showing signs of exhaustion and dehydration, but is now recovering. 

FOX NEWS TO DEBUT WEATHER SERVICE.  Fox News Media division in the 2021 third quarter plans to debut a streaming weather service, Fox Weather, complementing the traditional news operation.  Fox Weather will  take advantage of 75 meteorologists across 17 Fox stations and Fox News Channel's news gathering units.

HEAVYWEIGHT GOLDFISH DISCOVERED.  Wildlife officials conducting a fish population survey discover a goldfish weighing nine pounds in 12-acre Oak Grove Lake, Greenville County, in South Carolina.

VIRUS SHUTTERS 110,000 RESTAURANTS.  The National Restaurant Association says 110,000 restaurants permanently shuttered this year with 10,000 of them closed in the past three months.  A survey of 6,000 restaurant operators reveals 87 percent of full-service restaurants report an average 36 percent drop in revenue and 83 percent expect sales to be "even worse" over the next three months as the virus continues to lash the country.

HARTFORD COURANT CLOSES NEWSROOM.  The Hartford Courant, Connecticut’s largest newspaper and the oldest continuously published paper in the country, will be closing its newsroom by year-end.

 

BEST NEW YEAR'S CITIES LISTED.   WalletHub tallies  best cities for ringing in the new year without breaking the bank.  The data set ranges from safety and COVID-19 cases to quality food delivery options and costs.

 

Best Cities for New Year’s 1. Virginia Beach, VA 11. Raleigh, NC 2. Honolulu, HI 12. Chesapeake, VA 3. Plano, TX 13. San Jose, CA 4. Fremont, CA 14. Norfolk, VA 5. Irvine, CA 15. Colorado Springs, CO 6. Chula Vista, CA 16. Riverside, CA 7. Lincoln, NE 17. Austin, TX 8. Santa Ana, CA 18. Madison, WI 9. San Diego, CA 19. Pittsburgh, PA 10. Anaheim, CA 20. San Francisco, CA

 

PANDEMIC TRIGGERS MORE LAYOFFS OF TV STAFFERS

More TV staffers were caught in layoffs last week, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

ABC News was hit as part of major restructuring and job cuts across Walt Disney Co.

 

A report said layoffs were in the “low single digit” percentage of the news division's workforce that employs about 1,400.

 

Disney’s Television Group also eliminated positions in general entertainment divisions.

 

Radio Disney is ceasing operations.  ESPN cut jobs last month.  

 

The ABC action follows other network’s layoffs during the year at CBS News, NBC News and Fox News.

 

The pandemic exacerbates a volatile media environment, with a push toward streaming and digital.

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

Koala breaks into home, climbs Christmas tree

 

KOALA WITH CHRISTMAS SPIRIT.  Near Adelaide, southern Australia, a koala broke into a home and immediately climbed the Christmas tree.  The tree-climbing koala is an iconic animal, often called the koala “bear."

 

PEARL HARBOR ANNIVERSARY TODAY.  Today marks the 69th anniversary of the Japanese attack on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  It resulted in four battleships sunk, four others damaged.  Also sunk or damaged were three cruisers, three destroyers and a minelayer, while 188 aircraft were destroyed, 2,402 people were killed and 1,282 wounded, mostly Navy personnel.

 

NAVY LOSES ANOTHER SHIP.  The Navy will decommission the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard following heavy damage from a five-day fire in July near San Diego.  It would have cost up to $3.2 billion to rebuild the vessel.

 

PANDEMIC BOOSTS DAYTIME TV.  The pandemic is boosting daytime television.  Nielsen, the ratings and research firm, says daytime now is "a second prime time" as office workers and professionals are at home instead of the office --- sneaking in some viewing time.

 

ONLY SERVICE ANIMALS CAN FLY.  In a new ruling, dogs are the only service animals allowed to fly on passenger planes.  Emotional support animals are no longer considered service animals, which the Department of Transportation now defines solely as trained dogs.

 

PANDEMIC ELEVATES CREDIT CARD USE.  Many Americans, losing income in the pandemic, are falling deeper into debt and being forced to pay bills, rent or mortgage on credit cards, posing trouble ahead for the economy. 

 

FIRST RESCUE DOG WILL BE IN WHITE HOUSE.  President-elect Joe Biden’s adopted German Shepherd, Major, will be the first rescue dog to take up residence in the White House.  He will join Biden’s other dog, Champ.