The next few weeks include multiple doctor visits, several series of blood tests, and a CT/PET scan. That said, I’m determined to meet my normal publishing schedule. Your support is appreciated. Thanks!
KGB Report is published Monday through Thursday, is assembled by an aging human, and contains no intentional A.I. generated material. Have a great weekend!
July 30 is the 211th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 154 days remain until the end of the year. As of this writing, 904 days remain in Trump’s term of office.
Knee-deep in the hoopla:
Trump encounters a more determined Iran as war widens. The United States is again exchanging strikes with Iran, just days after the president appeared to reject plans to escalate. (New York Times gift article)
The Fauci business:
Fauci invokes Fifth amendment and declines to testify in Senate Covid hearing. Adviser to Trump and Biden for pandemic says Republican senator has ‘unhinged obsession’ with him. (The Guardian)
Anthony Fauci’s high-profile Senate hearing: what we learned. Six years on from Covid crisis, Republicans still politicizing science – and Fauci remains a political punching bag. (The Guardian)
Paul says Fauci will face ‘repercussions’ for taking the Fifth. That could get complicated. (Politico)
‘Pleading the Fifth’ invokes a constitutional amendment that has a long history in US society. (AP)
Polling confirms: There’s only one way for Trump to win — and it’s not good. President Donald Trump has been widely accused of planning on rigging the 2026 midterm elections, and according to a polling expert, that may be his best chance of not losing control of one or both houses of Congress. (Alternet)
Trump announces another renovation project in the middle of a war. “Cost was no object, unfortunately or fortunately,” Trump said as he revealed a $22.5 billion project to renovate Dulles Airport. (The New Republic)
From bad to worse for Trump and his base. They’re less likely to vote, and Trump’s growing unpopularity isn’t helping. (CNN)
Elon Musk launches new service where you can send him all your money and hope for the best. His social media platform X has officially rolled out a new banking service, uninspiredly called X Money, to its Premium and Premium Plus users- who are already shelling out up to $40 a month for a blue checkmark and more prominent tweet replies. (Futurism)
Wildfire near Area 51 continues to grow with 0% contained. Earlier this year, Area 51 was also hit by a different kind of natural event. In late April, at least 17 earthquakes were recorded within 24 hours near the site, prompting unfounded conspiracy theories. (The Independent)
Brewery that promised free beer when Trump dies loses alcohol permit. The action was unrelated to the promise. Riiight. (USA Today)
Heart attack patients’ blood contained a surprising substance, new study finds. Peanut butter? Nope. Microplastics. (The Healthy)
Late Night:
The Daily Show: Jordan Klepper dives into the latest headlines: the DNC gets scammed out of $29K, Trump shades Lindsey Graham at his own funeral, Sean Hannity uses the senator's eulogy to gush about the ratings he delivered for Fox News, and America's war with Iran is back on. Plus, Troy Iwata comes to us live from Lindsey Graham's heaven, which looks suspiciously like Mar-a-Lago. (Video)
The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon: Jimmy addresses the latest news, like a poll revealing that a majority of Americans don't think Trump is paying attention to the country's most important issues, a Qantas plane breaking records after flying nonstop for over 24 hours and more. (Video)
Late Night with Seth Meyers: Seth takes a closer look at President Trump getting heckled at a rally and Fox News asking questions about the war in Iran. (Video)
Keep scrolling… lots of interesting stuff in Quote of the Day, Holidays, On This Day, Birthdays, and Deaths. I can pretty much guarantee you’ll learn something new.
History highlight:
1965 – U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid.
Quote of the day:
You gotta learn that if you don’t get it by midnight, chances are you ain’t gonna get it, and if you do, it ain’t worth it.
--Casey Stengel (Wikipedia link)
(One of 52,674 quotations from the searchable KGB Quotations Database.)
Click here for more Casey Stengel quotes
Today’s holidays:
Earth Overshoot Day, Intergalactic Friendship Day, International Day of Friendship, International Digital Adoption (DAP) Professionals Day, MSD World Day, National Cheesecake Day, National Chili Dog Day, National Father-in-Law Day, National Intern Day, National Support Public Education Day, National Whistleblower Appreciation Day, Paperback Book Day, Share a Hug Day, World Day against Trafficking in Persons, and World Snorkeling Day.
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—Kevin G. Barkes (KGB)
On This Day:
2025 – A magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit Russia, causing tsunamis in the Pacific Ocean.
2006 – The world’s longest running music show Top of the Pops was broadcast for the last time on BBC Two. The show had aired for 42 years.
2003 – In Mexico, the last ‘old style’ Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the assembly line.
1999 – The film “The Blair Witch Project” went into wide release in the U.S. (Video)
1975 – Jimmy Hoffa disappeared from the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, at about 2:30 p.m. He was never seen or heard from again.
1974 – Under subpoena, President Richard Nixon surrendered the Watergate tapes.
1971 – An All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 and a Japanese Air Force F-86 collided over Morioka, Iwate, Japan, killing 162.
1971 – On Apollo 15, David Scott and James Irwin in the Apollo Lunar Module Falcon landed on the Moon with the first Lunar Rover.
1965 – U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid.
1962 – The Trans-Canada Highway, the then-longest national highway in the world, was officially opened.
1956 – A joint resolution of the U.S. Congress was signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizing In God We Trust as the U.S. national motto.
1945 – World War II: Japanese submarine I-58 sank the USS Indianapolis, killing 883 seamen. Most die during the following four days from exposure, dehydration, saltwater poisoning, and shark attacks, until an aircraft notices the survivors.
1932 – Premiere of Walt Disney‘s Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon short to use Technicolor and the first Academy Award winning cartoon short. (Video)
1916 – The Black Tom explosion in New York Harbor killed four and destroyed $20,000,000 worth of military goods.
1871 – The Staten Island Ferry Westfield's boiler exploded, killing over 85 people.
1866 – Armed Confederate veterans in New Orleans rioted against a meeting of Radical Republicans, killing 48 people and injuring another 100.
1865 – The steamboat Brother Jonathan sank off the coast of Crescent City, California, killing 225 passengers, the deadliest shipwreck on the Pacific Coast of the U.S. at the time.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of the Crater: Union forces attempted to break Confederate lines at Petersburg, Virginia by exploding a large bomb under their trenches.
1733 – The first Masonic Grand Lodge in the future United States was constituted in Massachusetts.
1729 – Baltimore, Maryland was founded.
1619 – In Jamestown, Virginia, the first Colonial European representative assembly in the Americas, the Virginia General Assembly, convened for the first time.
762 – Baghdad was founded.
(For more comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
Some Birthdays:
1999 – Joey King, American actress
1984 – Gina Rodriguez, American actress
1982 – Yvonne Strahovski, Australian actress
1982 – Martin Starr, American actor and comedian
1977 – Jaime Pressly, American actress
1974 – Hilary Swank, American actress and producer
1971 – Christine Taylor, American actress
1971 – Tom Green, Canadian comedian and actor
1970 – Christopher Nolan, English-American director, producer, and screenwriter
1970 – Dean Edwards, American comedian, actor, and singer
1969 – Simon Baker, Australian actor, director, and producer
1968 – Terry Crews, American actor and football player
1964 – Vivica A. Fox, American actress
1963 – Lisa Kudrow, American actress and producer
1962 – Alton Brown, American chef, author, and producer
1961 – Laurence Fishburne, American actor and producer
1960 – Richard Linklater, American director and screenwrite
1958 – Kate Bush, English singer-songwriter and producer
1956 – Anita Hill, American lawyer and academic
1956 – Delta Burke, American actress
1954 – Ken Olin, American actor, director, and producer
1950 – Frank Stallone, American singer-songwriter and actor
1948 – Jean Reno, Spanish-French actor
1948 – Otis Taylor, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1947 – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor, and politician, 38th Governor of California
1947 – William Atherton, American actor and producer
1945 – David Sanborn, American saxophonist and composer (died 2024)
1941 – Paul Anka, Canadian singer-songwriter and actor
1939 – Peter Bogdanovich, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2022)
1939 – Eleanor Smeal, American activist, founded the Feminist Majority Foundation
1936 – Buddy Guy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1929 – Sid Krofft, Canadian-American puppeteer and producer (died 2026)
1927 – Victor Wong, American actor (died 2001)
1922 – Henry W. Bloch, American banker and businessman, co-founded H&R Block (died 2019)
1890 – Casey Stengel, American baseball player and manager (died 1975)
1863 – Henry Ford, American engineer and businessman, founded the Ford Motor Company (died 1947)
1818 – Emily Brontë, English novelist and poet (died 1848)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2026 – Glen Hansard, Irish singer-songwriter and actor (born 1970)
2023 – Paul Reubens, American actor and comedian (born 1952)
2022 – Pat Carroll, American actress and comedian (born 1927)
2022 – Nichelle Nichols, American actress, singer and dancer (born 1932)
2020 – Herman Cain, American businessman and political activist (born 1945)
2016 – Gloria DeHaven, American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1925)
2015 – Lynn Anderson, American singer (born 1947)
2014 – Dick Smith, American make-up artist (born 1922)
2014 – Robert Drew, American director and producer (born 1924)
2007 – Ingmar Bergman, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1918)
2007 – Michelangelo Antonioni, Italian director and screenwriter (born 1912)
2003 – Sam Phillips, American record producer, founded Sun Records (born 1923)
1998 – Buffalo Bob Smith, American television host (born 1917)
1996 – Claudette Colbert, French-American actress (born 1903)
1992 – Joe Shuster, Canadian-American illustrator, co-created Superman (born 1914)
1983 – Lynn Fontanne, English actress (born 1887)
1975 – James Blish, American author and critic (born 1921)
1918 – Joyce Kilmer, American soldier, journalist, and poet (born 1886)
1898 – Otto von Bismarck, German lawyer and politician, 1st Chancellor of Germany (born 1815)
1718 – William Penn, English businessman and philosopher, founded the Province of Pennsylvania (born 1644)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
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