Today is Monday, June 30, 2025.
It is the 181st day of the year.
184 days remain.
PROGRAMMING NOTE
REMINDER: Tomorrow and Wednesday will be Lite editions, with an Independence Day special edition on Thursday and no newsletter on Friday.
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WHAT’S ON TAP
NOTABLE & NOTEWORTHY: TESLA achieves a major milestone.
DIDDY’s fate is now in the hands of the jury. More in SHOWBIZ.
STEVE BURNS returns with a new podcast. Details in CASTING CALL.
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An airplane waiting at the gate for passengers to board at Charlotte Douglas International Airport was giving off a smell so bad it sent some crew members to the hospital.
Fortunately, airline officials reported the stink before passengers were able to board, though they had to deal with delays as American Airlines maneuvered a new plane for the route. In total seven people went to the hospital for illness related to the odor, though they’re all expected to be okay.
No word yet what the stink was all about. [via NBC News]
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TESLA has reportedly shipped a self-driving vehicle straight from the factory to a customer’s house, a global first for the technology.
ELON MUSK reported on X, “The first fully autonomous delivery of a Tesla Model Y from factory to a customer home across town, including highways, was just completed a day ahead of schedule.” He added that at no point were any humans in the vehicle, nor was it operated remotely.
The development comes less than a week after Tesla debuted its self-driving Robotaxi service in Austin, though those vehicles always have an employee in the passenger seat in case things get wild. [via Elektrek]
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One component of STARBUCKS’ rebrand is to include personalized messages on every cup – but for one Texas woman, the quip left her insulted.
Blanca Lopez says she ordered a drink from the coffee shop inside her local Target. On the lid, the barista wrote, “What do you call a sick eagle? Illegal.”
Lopez, who’s Hispanic, says she was “stunned.” “For me, like, it’s offensive,” Lopez says. She said when she brought the message to the manager’s attention, they were very apologetic, though she’s still waiting for a formal apology from corporate. [via CBS News]
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A bison boiled to death in a hot spring last week during Yellowstone National Park’s busy tourist season.
“There were two bison standing there. I thought it was a great photo opportunity,” one park goer told CBS News. But then, moments later, one of them tipped into the Grand Prismatic Spring, and “as hard as it tried, it couldn’t get out.”
Fortunately the passing was quick, according to a scientist-in-charge at the park’s Volcano Observatory, who shared that the Grand Prismatic Spring reaches temperatures of 192 degrees. [via CBS]
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