DOODADS

I said yesterday that I would provide more details about China's new covid crisis today.  Well, I couldn't find anything more, so will continue my search and lay out the situation on Thursday, my day for this virus.

Instead, a little bit of everything to bring you up to date on even the most eclectic of topics, like the National Hockey League Stanley Cup Finals.  The only ice hockey games I watch are during some of the Winter Olympics.

I begin with what the New York Times sends me every morning, a summary of what happened and will.  To begin, this is their expectation of a very hot summer:

Hawaii looks to be great, so come over if you have a lot of money.  Also

Blowout win: The Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics in Game 7. They will face the Denver Nuggets in the N.B.A. finals.

Golden Knights advance, too: Las Vegas is back in the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in the franchise’s six-year history after a 6-0 rout in Dallas.

The next Tiger? The world is ready for Rose Zhang, the golf wunderkind who makes her pro debut this weekend.

Who is Rose Zhang?  20-year old from California who won the U.S. Women's Amateur when she was 17, and became the first woman to win the individual NCAA Championship two years in a row.  Last year and this year.  She will become a junior at Stanford.  She turns pro this week and will be at the Mizuho Open.  Thursday, 11AM EDT on the Golf Channel.

NBC News also sends me a morning run-down.  Like here, about the debt ceiling:

South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman called the deal "insanity" and said the bill had "virtually no cuts." Texas Rep. Chip Roy (right) blasted the deal as a "turd-sandwich" in a torrent of tweets. And Sen. Rand Paul lamented the bill's "fake spending cuts," adding in a tweet, "Conservatives have been sold out again!" 

As I said, you will hear those and more.  Here is a sensible House Republican, which, I would imagine, will help carry the vote.  Not all of them are nuts.

"I've talked to dozens of members — and listen, not every single member is on board," South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson said. "But when is the last time that every single member of Congress agreed on anything?"

Similar statements lamenting the matter are rife from liberal Democrats.  But that's the plan to get re-elected in the fall of 2024.  The bill will pass, with McCarthy and Biden gaining credence.  No Great Recession and our Democracy will continue.  Want to read the details?  Here is a summary.

You will read about that weekend shooting of nine in Hollywood, Florida.  Big deal on the news channels.  All will live.  Nothing much on TV about the 44 shot this weekend in Chicago, 9 fatally.  And this is just for one city in Illinois.  Over the past two decades roughly two locals die from some kind of armed weapon EVERY DAY IN THIS CITY!

There was a time when films came out to theaters.  I must have watched from 25 to 50 of them every year, with a lot of popcorn or restaurant meals.  Had to drive there and back.  If wine with lunch, then a double-bill.  But that was before the Pandemic. The danger is supposedly over (except for that outbreak in China), and people have stopped wearing masks.  Yet, I still avoid theaters, but mostly because it's so easy to watch Netflix and Amazon Prime in the safe comfort of home.  And this is a lot cheaper.  My lifestyle has changed.

One problem is that the best films now are found on streaming channels to which I don't subscribe.   I can't afford paying a monthly bill to all of them.  Well, I think I can, but have difficulty just keeping up with what I have, so why.

This is why  THE BEE GEES:  HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART, released three years ago, is so monumental.  Only previously shown on HBO/Max, somehow, CNN worked out a deal and featured it this past weekend.  Watched the show.  Fabulous.  Rotten Tomatoes gave it sterling 96/93 ratings.  Did you know these brothers wrote over 1,000 songs, many you know sung by others, and themselves had 20 #1 hits?  Here are eleven of them by these others...and you can view Grease by Frankie Valli, If I Can't Have You by Yvonne Elliman and Woman in Love by Barbra Streisand, among them.

Back tonight is my favorite summer TV program.  Season 18 of America's Got Talent.

• Same judges:  Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara, with Terry Crews moderating.
• More Golden Buzzers.

And speaking of Golden Buzzers, Simon has selected his for this season and he says she’s amazing.

“This is the start, I believe, of something very, very special for her,” he said. “And what’s so interesting about the show, is it does deliver on its promise. I think now everyone’s coming on the show because they really want to be in Vegas. And there’s so many people now who’ve actually had their dreams come true. So, I think that’s why people now fly in from all over the world to compete. Because if one of these auditions goes viral, which they do, everything changes.”

• 
  Six of the past eight winners started with this golden buzzer.
• Simon lost his voice in early episodes.
• The winner gets $1 million and the opportunity to headline the America's Got Talent live show in Las Vegas.
• Are you interested?

America’s Got Talent auditions have closed. You can find out more about virtual and in-person auditions for future seasons at www.AGTauditions.com. For more information, visit the FAQ section on the AGT website.

The all-time favorite performer, and certainly mine, after all these years, is Kodi Lee.  If you've never heard of him, watch THIS.  Approaching half a billion views.  Note the reaction of the judges.  He is autistic and blind.

Former Super Typhoon Betty (Mawar) is soon to lose hurricane strength and will skirt by Okinawa tomorrow, with a projection of further weakening and a track taking the storm far enough east of Japan.

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