Grumpy Editor

MEDIA OVERLOOKS 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II DOOLITTLE RAID

 

 

Media usually like to recycle anniversaries but somehow overlooked the 80th anniversary of the famous Doolittle raid during World War II, observes Grumpy Editor.

 

Planned and led by Lt. Col. James Doolittle (who later became a general) on April 18, 1942, 16 B-25B Mitchell medium bombers, each with a crew of five, took off without fighter escort  from the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Hornet off Japan to hit Tokyo and other places on Honshu.

 

It demostrated that the Japanese mainland was vulnerable to U.S. air attacks and boosted morale of Americans.

 

After bombing military and industrial targets in Japan, the plan was to continue westward and land in China.  But some aircraft ran out of fuel and crash landed on the way.

 

The action was portrayed in the well-received 1943 movie, “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” starring Spencer Tracy as Doolittle.

 

 

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FEW JOURNALISTS WORE MILITARY UNIFORMS.  Few U.S. journalists are military veterans.  Only two percent of media workers are veterans, according to a Census data analysis from Military Vets in Journalism. 

 

BIDEN TO ATTEND D.C. WRITERS ANNUAL DINNER.  President Joe Biden plans to attend the White House Correspondents Association's annual dinner on Saturday, the first time a sitting president will be at the event since Barack Obama in 2016.

 

WORLD'S OLDEST CANINE SETS RECORD.  The world's oldest living dog, a chihuahua named TobyKeith, breaks a Guinness World record --- passing 21 years and 66 days.  He was adopted from a shelter in Florida.

 

ALL FEMALE NEWS STAFF --- IN SOMALIA.  Led by one of the few female senior news producers in Somalia, a team of six women will produce content for TV, radio and online media on issues such as gender-based violence, women in politics and female entrepreneurs.

 

BURGLARS HIT HIGH-END L.A. HOMES.  A number of homes in upscale Los Angeles areas are being burglarized.  A Hollywood Hills home is hit while the homeowner is hiding in the bathroom.  Police are investigating since the action is captured on security cameras.

 

DENTAL PATIENT INHALES DRILL BIT.  While at his dentist, an Illinois man inhaled a one-inch drill bit, sending it deep into his lung.  He had to go to a hospital to have it removed.

CAR HITS MOUNTAIN LION ON FREEWAY.  A mountain lion was struck and killed on the 405 Freeway near Brentwood in the Los Angeles area.  The animal died just one day before the groundbreaking of a wildlife bridge designed to provide safe passage for animals hemmed in by urban sprawl.

SHOPLIFTING, THEFT HIT RETAILERS, CHAIN STORES, PHARMACIES

Shoplifting and theft continue to hurt big retailers, chain stores, including pharmacies but it’s even harder for small businesses still trying to recover from the pandemic, notes Grumpy Editor.

CVS, the drug store chain, reports a 300 percent increase in retail theft incidents since the pandemic started.

Some small-business owners say they’re losing thousands of dollars each month and won’t submit every claim to insurance, fearing being dropped.

In combating shoplifting incidents, Target, for example, turns to surveillance systems, security guards, facial recognition, among multiple deterrents to reduce the number of shoplifting incidents that occur.

 

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BANK HEADQUARTERS UTILIZES HYDROELECTRIC POWER.  Banking operation JPMorgan Chase will rely on hydroelectric power for its new 1,388-foot skyscraper in Manhattan.  That means net-zero emissions.

INFLATION SOARS TO 8.5 PERCENT.  Driven by skyrocketing energy costs, higher food prices and strong consumer demand, inflation in the U.S. soared to 8.5 percent in March, a four-decade high.

CRUISE MISSILE SINKS RUSSIAN WARSHIP.  Russia’s Moskva warship that sank on Thursday, from what Ukrainian military says was a cruise missile strike, was Russia’s flagship in the Black Sea.

SURVEY FINDS MOST AMERICANS SAY ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION GETS WORSE.  The latest Rasmussen Reports survey finds 55 percent of likely voters believe the problem of illegal immigration is getting worse, while 14 percent think the illegal immigration problem is getting better and 27 percent think the problem is about the same.

LAPD COPING WITH 17 GANGS WORKING AREA.  The Los Angeles Police Department says 17 gangs are sending out crews to prey on the mega-rich, targeting people leaving luxury boutiques, restaurants and nightclubs. 

LIZARDS BUSY IN GEORGIA.  Georgia residents are being warned about invasive lizards that "eat almost anything.”  South American tegus can grow up to four feet long, eat turtle eggs, alligators and ground-nesting birds, among other things.

CALIFORNIA CONSIDERING SHORTER WORK WEEK.  California is considering going to a 32-hour workweek.  A bill at the state’s legislature would make the Golden State the first in the nation to adopt a four-day week for some employees. 

LONG-TIME ALGERIAN NEWSPAPER FOLDS.  Prominent Algerian newspaper Liberte printed its last issue on Thursday, three decades after the French language publication was established and a week after its owner, the country's richest man, decided to liquidate it.

CAR CHASE SHOOTINGS GRAB ATTENTION ON TV

 

Car chase shootings often lead off local TV news programs.  Somehow they grab attention of news editors who feel they’ll grab attention of viewers, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

Thus, it’s not unexpected seeing a report of road-rage shootings killing or injuring an average of 44 people a month (yes, a month) last year, double the average of like incidents in 2019, before the pandemic.

 

“Driving gets heated in plenty of other countries, but only in the U.S. is someone shot and injured or killed every 17 hours in a road-rage incident, says Sarah Burd-Sharps, director of research at Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund.

 

From 2016 to 2019, the study found one-third of road-rage incidents involving a gun resulted in injury or death.

 

Grumpy Editor feels inspiring some of that road rage are car chases depicted in movies and television.

 

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SURPRISE.  A study suggests people who live with handgun owners are shot to death at a higher rate than those without such weapons on premises.

 

NORTH KOREA THREATENS…AGAIN.  Two times in three days the sister of North Korea’s leader warns her country’s nuclear forces would annihilate South Korea’s conventional forces if provoked.

 

SIX DAYS A WEEK MAIL CONTINUES.  Six days a week of mail delivery is assured after President Joe Biden signs into law a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. Postal Service.  The bill signing occurs on the same day the Postal Service announces it plans to raise rates effective July 10.

 

D.C. FOX BITES PEOPLE.  A fox roaming near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. that tested positive bites California congressman Ami Bera near a Senate office building and at least eight other people.

 

DODGERS PRODUCE NAME PRONOUNCIATION GUIDE.  With many tough-to-pronounce baseball players’ names on the Los Angeles Dodgers roster, a guide is produced on how the players would like those names pronounced.

 

CLEARING THE AIR.  Barcelona beachgoers no longer will have to contend with cigarette butts or passive smoke starting in July when Spain's second largest city bans smoking on all its beaches.

 

NEW YORK CITY ADDS SKYSCRAPER.  Steinway Tower, the world's “most slender skyscraper" — at 1,428 feet — is completed, adding a new landmark to Manhattan's skyline.  It compares to the Empire State Building that stands 1,250 feet or 1,454 feet to the top of its antenna.

 

HELIUM SUPPLY CURBED.   The National Weather Service is reducing the frequency of weather balloon launches due to a "global supply chain disruption of helium" and a "temporary issue with the contract" of a hydrogen supplier. However, most NWS weather balloons now use hydrogen rather than helium.

U.S. MILITARY FAILS TO GET FUNDS FOR A NEEDED BOOST

Grumpy Editor notes a Wall Street Journal piece focusing on “America’s Declining Military.”

In citing the Pentagon is seeking $773 billion for fiscal 2023, the Journal points out, "the 298-ship Navy would buy only nine ships next year while retiring 24.  The fleet would shrink to 280 ships in 2027, even as the Navy says it needs a fleet of 500 to defeat China in a conflict.”

As for the Army, the Journal mentions it is seeking $177.5 billion, "barely up from $174.7 billion last year and a cut after inflation,” adding “end strength would fall to 473,000 from the 485,000 authorized last year. The Army shrugs because it hasn’t been able to fill all its spots in a hot labor market.  This may relieve a recruiting headache for some general, but it won’t reduce the threats the Army may have to address in multiple theaters."

Turning to the Air Force, the Journal says it "is now the smallest, oldest and least ready it has ever been in its 75-year history...but the Pentagon plans to cut its buy of F-35 fighter jets this year." 

 

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NUMBER OF MEDIA WORKERS DECLINES.  There were 39,080 news analysts, reporters and journalists employed in the U.S. in May, 2021. This is down from 41,580 in the prior May and 44,100 in May, 2019, with average annual wage of $63,230 in May 2021, down from $66,000 the year prior.    

 

MORTGAGE LOAN RATE RISES.  Mortgage giant Freddie Mac says average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage loan rises to 4.67 percent, highest since December, 2018.

 

SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA HIT SEAFOOD.  New rounds of economic sanctions on Russia make key seafood species such  as cod and crab harder to come by, along with alcohol and diamonds.  

 

NIELSEN BEING ACQUIRED.  Nielsen, the New York-based media measurement company with annual global revenue of about $3.5 million, is being acquired for $16 billion, including debt.  Data collected by Nielsen is a major factor in determining where billions in advertising dollars are spent each year.

 

L.A. BANS NEW OIL WELLS.  The Los Angeles City Council votes unanimously to ban new oil wells and phase out existing ones, a move leaders in the nation's second-most populous city call essential for health reasons.  A city commission will study how to phase out more than 5,200 existing oil and gas wells.

 

BLACK NEWS CHANNEL CLOSES.  The Black News Channel, first all-day news network aimed at African Americans, closes a little more than two years after it went live.

 

COIN MYSTERY.  Quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies are in short supply again.  While some will call it the great coin shortage of 2022, America is facing a coin circulation problem.