Today is Thursday, May 29, 2025.
It is the 149th day of the year.
216 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
NOTABLE & NOTEWORTHY: A pair of pesky creatures wreak havoc on Florida suburbs.
Pardons, lawsuits, and snitching in SHOWBIZ.
The all-star cast of Season 50 of “Survivor” is revealed in CASTING CALL.
New details on the future of MEGHAN SUSSEX’s lifestyle brand in ROYALS.
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UPDATE: A company developing autonomous freight trucks says its vehicles have traveled more than 1,200 miles on Texas freeways without a driver behind the wheel.
That company, AURORA, began the pilot program on April 27, after four years of testing the technology, but always with someone in the cab of the truck. The latest test had no one in the vehicle.
Aurora says it plans to expand the system throughout Texas and into Arizona by the end of the year. [via New York Post]
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FLORIDA AND ITS PESTS
– An invasion of toxic cane toads plagues the otherwise quiet sidewalks of Fort Myers Shores, Florida. One local says the creepy amphibians are about the size of a large lime and that its secretions can be lethal to pets. Locals have taken to walking around with a stick or shovel to fend off the toads.
– In Cape Coral, senior citizens have found themselves defenseless against a Muscovy duck that stalks and taunts them while they venture out for walks, flaring its wings and quacking out threats. One local said the duck snuck up on him while he was on his porch, only to discover it nipping at his hand hard enough to draw blood. Florida’s fish and wildlife management department isn’t much help, either. Its official policy is to let homeowners handle animals like ducks on their own.
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San Francisco’s public school system is revamping its grading procedures and curriculum for the next academic year, lowering standards so deeply that scoring just 21% correct on a test lands a student a non-failing grade.
IT GETS WORSE: The “Grading for Equity” scheme also eliminates homework completely and scores on weekly tests will have no bearing on a student’s final grade.
The only score that will matter is a final exam, which can be taken multiple times – but without the student having completed any homework to learn the material along the way. [via The Voice of SF]
WORTH NOTING: No, it doesn’t make sense.
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If you’re missing whatever drama might have unfolded if FYRE FESTIVAL 2 had actually happened, there’s some controversy across the pond involving Britain’s Glastonbury music festival.
The week-long event scheduled for the end of June includes outdoor stages and visitors roughing it in tents for the duration. Wealthier attendees had the option to rent more elaborate yurts – to the tune of more than $13,000.
BUT WAIT: The company providing the yurts just filed bankruptcy, leaving the bilked patrons with no recourse for a refund, or, worse, a place to crash during the festival.
For the organizers’ part, there’s not much they can do, either, since the yurt company is a third-party vendor. [via Futurism]
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A pair of beatboxing Brazilian nuns are going viral after dropping an impromptu jam session during a televised Catholic program.
Sisters Marizele Cassiano and Marisa de Paula were detailing a vocational retreat on Brazil’s Pai Eterno (Eternal Father) TV channel when the music called to them.
The duo launched into spontaneous song, which included dancing and some beatboxing. Feeling the grove, presenter Deacon Giovani Bastos couldn't help but join in. [via NBC]
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