Today is Wednesday, May 21, 2025.
It is the 141st day of the year.
224 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
NOTABLE & NOTEWORTHY: Surgeons complete an historic human organ transplant.
BARACK OBAMA gets name-dropped in DIDDY’s trial. More in SHOWBIZ.
A “7th Heaven” reboot is in the works and another Mattel game will become a movie. Details in CASTING CALL.
KING CHARLES has a new famous pal. Details in ROYALS.
###
WOMAN VS BUREAUCRACY: A Philadelphia woman says she’s spent the last six months putting her life back together after an error at the Social Security Administration marked her as dead.
The mistake led to her losing health insurance and retirement benefits and access to her bank accounts.
By the Social Security Administration’s own admission, this kind of thing happens to 10,000 people every year.
GO FIGURE: While living Americans can’t get their benefits, a recent audit of the agency reveals it sends out at least $60 MILLION a year in payments to people who shouldn’t be getting paid – and that was before DOGE got its hands on the real data. [via CBS Philly]
###
For the first time on record, doctors have successfully completed a human bladder transplant.
In the first-of-its-kind operation, the patient received both a new kidney and bladder following seven years of dialysis as a result of cancer.
Surgeons from UCLA and USC completed the operation on May 4 during an eight-hour procedure in Los Angeles. In a remarkable and promising development, the transplant surgeon said the transplanted kidney and bladder began functioning immediately, and that the patient will no longer need dialysis. [via StudyFinds]
###
OLYMPICS 2028: NFL owners on Tuesday agreed to allow their players to compete in flag football events for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Six men’s teams and six women’s teams will compete, with ten players on each team, in the sport’s Olympic debut. As part of the NFL deal, each team will be able to nominate one player to participate for the U.S., and a designated international player to compete for their home country, when appropriate. [via NBC News]
###
The Chicago Sun-Times is looking into how an article was published that included patently incorrect information created by A.I.
On May 18, the newspaper published a summer reading guide that included real authors, but entirely invented titles.
For example, the piece suggested reading “Nightshade Market” by Min Jin Lee.
Min Jin Lee is indeed a novelist, but she has no book of such title.
In another instance, it invented a book and a plot called “Boiling Point” – about a climate scientist whose teenage daughter turns on her (?) – attributed to real novelist Rebecca Makkai.
In a statement published on alternative social media platform Bluesky, the Sun-Times says, “We are looking into how this made it into print as we speak. It is not editorial content and was not created by, or approved by, the Sun-Times newsroom. We value your trust in our reporting and take this very seriously. More info will be provided soon.” [via The Verge]
###
A North Carolina man strangled a coyote to death with his bare hands.
James Pulliam, of Roxboro, says he was walking near his home when he noticed the wild animal following him. Attempting to scare it away, Pulliam says he threw some rocks near it, but fell down in the process and that’s when it attacked.
“I had to rip my left hand out of his mouth, and when I got my left hand out, I just choked him all the way till the police got there,” Pulliam recalled.
When police arrived, Pulliam was taken to a nearby hospital where he was given a series of rabies vaccinations and had his hand bandaged up. [via WRAL]
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Morning Martini to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.