Grumpy Editor

GET READY TO MEET OLIVIA, LIAM, DUTTON, KAYCE, WRENLEE AND NERIAH

What happened to Charlie, John, Mary and Susie, among other names popular over the past years, asks Grumpy Editor.

Seems they have faded into history.

Olivia and Liam are the most popular baby names for the second year, according to the Social Security Administration.

Leading the fastest rising boys' names in the last year:  Dutton, Kayce, Chosen, Khaza and Eithan.

Fastest rising girls' names: Wrenlee, Neriah, Arley, Georgina and Amiri. 

Some people may have problems saying these names correctly.

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

FORGOTTEN EVENT BY MEDIA.  Victory in Europe Day (May 8), marking the formal acceptance by the Allies in World War II of Germany’s surrender of its armed forces in 1945 did not get much coverage in U.S. media. 

AIRLINES EXPECT BUSY SUMMER.  Airlines have more workers than they've had in 20 years, but they still might not have enough to handle what's projected to be a sizzling summer travel season. United Airlines, for example, which  already hired more than 7,000 workers since January, says it plans to add 8,000 more this year.

FORT BENNING GETS NAME CHANGE.  Fort Benning, the Army’s training hub in Georgia since 1918, is renamed Fort Moore.  Benning was the name of a Confederate officer.

 

CHINOOK HELICOPTERS GOING TO GERMANY.  The Biden administration approves an $8.5 billion sale of 60 Chinook helicopters with engines and spare parts to NATO ally Germany.

 

N.Y. TIMES REVENUE HIT.  The New York Times missed estimates for quarterly revenue as a turbulent economy sapped digital subscriber growth and forced businesses to cut back on advertising spending, sending its shares tumbling 6 percent.

BANKS HIKE LENDING STANDARDS.  Banks raised their lending standards for businesses and consumer loans last week after three large bank failures, notes a Federal Reserve Report.

METEORITE HITS N.J. HOUSE.  A metallic rock — likely a meteorite — fell out of the sky and hit a house in Hopewell Township, N.J., about 10 miles north of Trenton, sending the Hopewell Township Police Department to the incident.  The oblong-shaped rock damaged the building.

DODGERS, PADRES PLAN SOUTH KOREA VISIT.  The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will open next season with two games in South Korea.  It will mark the first time major U.S. baseball teams play in that country.

 

 

BASEBALL'S CLEVELAND INDIANS TO BECOME CLEVELAND GUARDIANS

Big talk in the sports world is the pending Cleveland Indians name change, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

The Cleveland team, playing under that name since 1915, plans to drop Indians, which has been criticized as racist, at the end of this season, to become known as the Cleveland Guardians.

 

The name change is triggered by protests around the U.S. against racial injustice.

 

Caught up in the movement earlier is the NFL’s Washington football team saying it will no longer be known as Redskins.

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

 

CURTAILING WATER TO FARMERS PLANNED.  Look for higher food prices if California regulators succeed in stopping thousands of farmers from taking water from major Golden State rivers.  The State Water Resources Control Board votes on an “emergency curtailment” order Aug. 3.

 

OHTANI'S ALL-STAR JERSEY SETS AUCTION RECORD.   Los Angeles Angels’ 2021 American League Shohei Ohtani's autographed All-Star jersey breaks an auction record, going for $130,210.

GREAT SALT LAKE WATER LEVEL SINKS.  The southern portion of Utah’s Great Salt Lake drops to its lowest level on record.  Record-breaking drought accelerates its fall in recent months as the average daily water level drops about an inch below the previous record of 4,194 feet, set in 1963.

 

MORE MONEY BOOSTS LONGEVITY.  Northwestern University researchers say every time another $50,000 is accumulated by middle age, an individual’s risk of death drops, adding for those who stash $139,000 more than siblings, chances of outliving them increase.

 

JOURNALISM HAVES, HAVE-NOTS.  Axios reports there is a sharp divide in American journalism between haves and have-nots. "While national journalists covering tech and politics on the coasts reap the benefits of booming businesses and book deals, local media organizations, primarily newspapers, continue to shrink," it finds.

 

INFLATION BRINGS NEW TERM.  “Shrinkflation” is spreading.  It’s a new term, spurred by inflation, meaning getting less for your money because a manufacturer reduces the size of its product in a bottle or a container.

 

HUGE GOLDFISH WASHES ASHORE.  A 100-pound tropical goldfish washes ashore in Oregon in what aquarium officials call a rare occurrence.

ESKIMO PIE, AUNT JEMIMA, UNCLE BEN FACE NAME CHANGES

Black Lives Matter protests are triggering name changes in some long-used food products, notes Grumpy Editor.

Latest to retire its name is Eskimo Pie treats.  The brand, America's first chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream bar, goes back to 1920.

 

Other brands affected during the past week include Aunt Jemima, a fixture on breakfast tables for 131 years, and Uncle Ben’s rice, which goes back to 1937.

 

Eskimo Pie’s owner, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, says the name will be changed, with its marketing head explaining, “We are committed to being a part of the solution on racial equality, and recognize the term (Eskimo) is derogatory.”

 

Quaker Oats, a susidiary of PepsiCo, says it will retire its Aunt Jemima brand of pancake mixes, syrups and other products, pointing out it recognizes the character’s origins are “based on racial stereotype.” 

 

Mars, owner of Uncle Ben’s rice, says the brand will “evolve" in response to concerns about racial stereotyping.  The name originated from a black Texan farmer known as Uncle Ben.

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

2020 SET FOR WARM YEAR.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says 2020 is on track to be one of the warmest years on record, adding last month ties the previous record for the warmest May in recorded history.

GEORGE WASHINGTON STATUE TOPPLED.  Protesters in Portland, Oregon, wrap a bronze sculpture of first U.S. president George Washington in an American flag, set it on fire, then yank it down.  Washington owned slaves in the 1700s.

HOLLYWOOD SET FOR PRODUCTION.  Hollywood’s film and TV shows are gearing up for production with new coronavirus precautions, but extras fear they will be replaced with a green screen.  Crowd scenes are basically out.

NORTH KOREA ACTS UP --- AGAIN.  North Korea blew up an inter-Korean liaison office building just north of the heavily armed border with South Korea.  The dramatic display of anger raises tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

 

OSCARS DATE RESCHEDULED.  For only the fourth time in its history, the Oscars are being postponed. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says the 93rd Academy Awards will now be held on April 25, 2021, eight weeks later than originally planned because of the pandemic. EIFFEL TOWER TO REOPEN.  Workers are preparing for reopening the Eiffel Tower this week after the iconic Paris landmark’s longest closure since World War II. REPTILES STOLEN.  Florida wildlife sanctuary the Everglades Wonder Gardens in Bonita Springs says a rare, albino red-tailed boa constrictor, a ball python and two Russian tortoises are stolen during a break-in. ELECTION TIME OFF FOR WORKERS.  Best Buy says it will limit store hours on Election Day so each of its roughly 125,000 employees "will have an opportunity to cast a vote in person."