Oskaloosa News Recap For March 22nd, 2021
Local News – Local and State News
Local Sports – Local Sports
Indians Network
Statesmen Sports Network
North Mahaska Warhawks
Oskaloosa News Links
Obituaries
Radar and Road Conditions
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National and World News
Australians are hoping that torrential rainfall will drown out the plague of rodents that many are battling.
The rats and mice have descended on rural parts of New South Wales and Queensland after the regions experienced a bumper crop after years of drought, according to the Guardian.
One grocer told the outlet that he has to arrive to work five hours early to clear out between 400 and 500 rodents caught each night.
Officials are hoping heavy rains will wipe out the rodents naturally, so they don’t have to cough up thousands of dollars to deal with the pests.
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A 21-year-old woman was killed and seven others were injured in a shooting sparked by a fight at a Dallas nightclub early Saturday.
Two groups of people got into it around 1:30 am and someone in one of the groups pulled out a gun and opened fire, The Associated Press reported.
Those wounded ranged from stable to critical condition.
The shooter — who remains at large — is reported to be a man in his 20s.
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A dormant volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwestern Iceland flared to life Friday — the area’s first eruption in nearly 800 years.
Aerial footage posted by the Icelandic Meteorological Office showed two streams of lava running down the sides of the volcano in opposite directions. The Department of Emergency Management said it was not anticipating evacuations because the volcano is in a remote valley.
Officials were on alert that there may be a possible eruption as earthquakes have occurred daily for the past three weeks.
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NASA successfully test-fired the core stage of its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for the second time last week — a huge milestone in NASA’s goal to return to the lunar surface.
The core stage design will be used for all configurations of the SLS rocket and the team will use the data from their tests to validate the design for flight.
Next up will be the Artemis I mission, which is tentatively scheduled for liftoff by the end of the year and will use an SLS rocket to send an uncrewed Orion spacecraft on a flight around the moon and back to Earth.
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A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck northern Japan on Saturday, shaking buildings and triggering a tsunami advisory.
The strong quake caused a temporary blackout and suspended bullet train services in the area.
There were no reports of damage or injuries.
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Nearly half of the nation’s frontline health care workers haven’t been vaccinated for COVID-19.
According to a report published by the Kaiser Family Foundation, only 52% of health care workers have received at least one vaccine dose, even though they were the first eligible to receive the treatment.
The survey, which included interviews with 1,327 frontline health care workers, also found that of those who weren’t vaccinated, 82% said they were worried about side effects, and 65% said they did not trust the government to ensure the vaccine’s safety.
One frontline worker cited that they would “quit” if their employer said they “had to take it.”
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Miami Beach Police called in SWAT teams over the weekend to help enforce emergency curfews against out-of-control spring breakers that have descended on the beach town.
Even as SWAT members rolled up to the chaos, with piercing sound cannons to try to clear the packed streets, the parties continued on for hours, the Daily Beast reported.
Officers ultimately fired pepper balls at the crowd, causing a mad stampede with many people being knocked to the ground. No word on if there were any injuries — or arrests made — during the chaos.
Local officials enforced a curfew last week after mass fighting and a rise in crime among the spring breakers — who are also defying all COVID-safety guidelines.
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Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are allowing Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector (RGV) to release illegal border crossers who claim asylum without a court date.
A CBP source said the reasoning for the decision is that the situation has “become so dire that BP [Border Patrol] has no choice but to release people nearly immediately after apprehension because there is no space to hold people.”
The RGV, based in Texas, is at more than 700% capacity.
There are approximately 4,500 unaccompanied children being held in detention centers and tent sites at the border, many beyond the legal three-day limit.
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More than 124.4 million COVID vaccines have been administered nationwide.
Over 44.1 million Americans are fully vaccinated, while more than 81.4 million have received at least one dose, according to the CDC.
The total number of cumulative cases in the US is slightly over 29.6 million, with more than 539,000 deaths attributed to the virus.
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Monopoly is getting a makeover.
Hasbro has plans to update Community Chest cards in order to bring the game up to date with the cancel heavy culture we live in today.
Game makers will remove cards such as winning a “beauty contest” (superficial), receiving a “tax refund” (untoward for a real-estate mogul) and “bank error in your favor” (technically stealing).
Replacing them will be more contemporary cards that raise social awareness and promote community. The new cards include, rewards for fundraising locally, rescuing a pet from an animal shelter or volunteering at a local senior center. There will also be punishments for acts such as blasting music all night, not returning a lost wallet or failing to recycle.
The new edition of the game is expected to arrive this fall. It is unclear if the original version will continue to be sold.
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Former President Donald Trump is planning a social media comeback.
One of his advisers announced Sunday that after months of being banned from Twitter for allegedly inciting the US Capitol riot, 45 will soon use “his own platform” to return to social media.
When asked if Trump will be creating the platform himself or with a company, the advisor said that he can’t comment on that, but “can say that it will be big once he starts.”
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Weekend Box Office
10. The Father: $321k (stayed at 10)
9. The Little Things: $340k (down from 8)
8. Wonder Woman 1984: $460k (up from 9)
7. The Marksman: $480k (stayed at 7)
6. Boogie: $600k (down from 4)
5. The Croods: A New Age: $620k (stayed at 5)
4. Chaos Walking: $1.9 million (down from 3)
3. The Courier: $2 million (new)
2. Tom Jerry: $3.8 million (stayed at 2)
1. Raya and the Last Dragon: $5.2 million (stayed at 1)
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Tube Talk
Here’s what’s new on TV tonight:
NCAA Basketball Tournament / CBS / 6:00 pm
American Idol / ABC / 7:00 pm
The Voice / NBC / 7:00 pm
America’s Most Wanted / FOX / 8:00 pm
NCAA Basketball Tournament / CBS / 8:30 pm
The Good Doctor / ABC / 9:00 pm
Debris / NBC / 9:00 pm
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Showbiz News
The NFL has reached 11-year rights extensions with current TV partners — FOX, NBC, CBS, and ESPN — with ABC joining the mix and Amazon Prime Video taking over Thursday night games from FOX.
The final details had been swirling for weeks, so the confirmation comes as no surprise.
The agreements, which will begin with the 2023 season, are said to be worth more than $100 billion collectively.
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Dulé Hill is set to star opposite Elisha Williams and Saycon Sengbloh in ABC’s “The Wonder Years” reboot.
The remake of the classic 1980s family comedy-drama is set in the same era as the original. It features the Williamses, a Black middle-class family in Montgomery, AL, in the turbulent late 1960s.
Hill will play Bill Williams, Dean’s (Elisha) dad.
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Amazon Original Film “P!NK: All I Know So Far,” a documentary featuring the performer and musician, will launch on Prime Video on Friday, May 21.
The film shows the singer as she embarks on her 2019 “Beautiful Trauma” world tour, all while balancing being a mom, a wife, a boss, and a performer.
Featuring footage from the road, behind-the-scenes interviews and personal material, the docuseries gives audiences a glimpse behind the curtain of the circus that she calls life.
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Daniel Radcliffe is set to play the villain in Paramount’s romantic action adventure comedy “The Lost City of D.”
He joins previously announced stars Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum.
The story follows a reclusive romantic novelist (Bullock) who was sure nothing could be worse than getting stuck on a book tour with her cover model (Tatum) until a kidnapping attempt sweeps them both into a merciless jungle adventure.
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NBC will air an hour-long special designed to raise awareness on COVID-19 vaccinations.
“Roll Up Your Sleeves: Presented By Walgreens” aims to dispel concerns, provide information, and encourage those who are hesitant to receive a vaccine. The special will feature prominent figures, comedians, artists, and performers as well as frontline workers and medical professionals.
It is set to air on Sunday, April 18.
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The investigation into Tiger Woods’ horrific car crash has revealed that he did not hit the brakes as he lost control of his SUV.
Sources told TMZ that there is also evidence that the golf legend never even took his foot off the gas as his car veered off a roadway near the border of Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes last month.
Officials, who retrieved the black box from Woods’ vehicle, said there was no evidence that he was impaired at the time of the crash.
As previously reported, Woods suffered multiple leg injuries in the collision. He was recently released from the hospital, but still has a long way to go on his road to recovery.
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There are multiple versions of “Mrs. Doubtfire” that didn’t make the big screen.
Director Chris Columbus confirmed rumors that all of Robin Williams’ improvisations didn’t end up on the cutting room floor, noting that some of the late star’s “hilariously funny,” but NSFW (not safe for work) scenes didn’t make it into theaters.
“The outtakes from the flick don’t rise to the level of an NC-17 rating, but there are three different versions of the film, including an R-rated cut,” Columbus told Entertainment Weekly.
Columbus said he is “very happy with the version everyone knows,” but he would be open to creating a documentary to show the world behind-the-scenes shots of Williams, as well as many of the outtakes deemed too inappropriate for family-viewing.
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CBS has postponed the return of daytime series “The Talk” for a second time as they continue to investigate allegations made against co-host, Sharon Osbourne.
The show was initially put on a brief hold following controversy surrounding Osbourne’s support of Piers Morgan, which led to several accusations of racism from current and previous hosts.
The hiatus was extended again days later, and the show was scheduled to return today, but will now continue to be on hiatus for at least another week.
Osbourne has denied allegations that she called previous host Julie Chen “wonton” and that she labeled Holly Robinson Peete “too ghetto” for the show.
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Brad Pitt is “heartbroken” over the news that his ex, Angelina Jolie is ready to testify about alleged spousal abuse in their child custody trial.
While the couple are legally single, they are still battling over custody of their six children and this latest bombshell could spell disaster for Pitt.
Jolie filed court documents earlier this month stating that she and her children are willing to offer testimony and “proof and authority in support” of her allegations. While the docs are private and sealed, they were leaked to Hollywood blog The Blast last week.
A source close to Pitt said that he is “heartbroken that Angelina has gone that route.”
WORTH NOTING: Pitt has never been arrested or charged for any offense during his marriage to Jolie, nor were there any police reports made about any allegations of spousal abuse. There was a 2016 incident involving their son Maddox on a private jet, but the actor was cleared by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and was never charged.
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Meredith Vieria has done countless interviews over the past two decades as a television host, but one in particular has always stuck out as the worst interview of her career.
While chatting with guest Maria Menounos on her self-titled daytime talk show, Vieria revealed her worst interview took place at the 72nd Academy Awards in 2000.
“Go sit in Clint Eastwood’s lap, in the front row…and then we’ll go right to the show,” Vieria was told through her earpiece. Being the obedient journalist, she did what she was told, but soon realized that she had “ticked off” the actor.
“He did not want me sitting on his lap. And it was so awkward,” Vieria explained.
She added that she totally understood why Eastwood was not a fan of the joke, adding that she hasn’t seen him since.
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Sports
The Wisconsin women’s hockey team won its sixth NCAA championship on Saturday — tying Minnesota for most national titles.
The Badgers defeated the Huskies 2-1 in overtime.
Head coach Mark Johnson — known for being a member of the Miracle on Ice team — also now owns the most titles in women’s hockey history with six.
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A Tik Tok video stirred up a gender-centered controversy at the NCAA tournament over the weekend.
Oregon University basketball player Sedona Prince compared the women’s training area with only six pairs of dumbbells to the men’s, which was furnished with numerous training racks, bars, plates, dumbbells and benches.
After the video went viral — thanks to the likes of big-named athletes such as Steph Curry reposting it — the women were given a new weight room with all the equipment one would expect for athletes competing at the most important college basketball event of the year.
Amid the backlash, NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt apologized, while Vice President of Women’s Basketball, Lynn Holzman, admitted the organization “fell short.”
Prince told CNN that “now that there’s been action,” all has been forgiven.
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Vanderbilt pitcher Jack Leiter, 20, tossed a no-hitter on Saturday in the Commodores’ 5-0 win over South Carolina.
Leiter walked back a batter in the first inning before recording 27 consecutive outs. He finished with a career-high 16 strikeouts as the No. 2 Commodores improved 15-2.
The win was Vanderbilt’s first regular-season no-hitter since 1971.
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Day of the Year
National Bavarian Crepes Day
National Goof Off Day
National West Virginia Day
As Young As You Feel Day
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On This Date
1765 – British Parliament imposes the Stamp Act on American colonies.
The law taxed all printed materials, including newspapers, pamphlets, and even playing cards. It was intended to raise revenue to offset debts from the Seven Years’ War.
The Stamp Act followed three other major taxes, and the colonists were none too pleased. This last imposition brought to the forefront of revolutionary debate the issue of taxation without representation.
While the British repealed the Act the following year, the damage had been done, and revolution was on its way.
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1933 – President Franklin Roosevelt signs legislation that imposes a federal tax on all beer and wine sales.
It relaxed the regulations set forth in the Volstead Act, which helped to enforce prohibition. With the new rules, beverages with less than 3.2 percent alcohol by volume could be sold — and taxed.
The 21st amendment would be ratified later that year, which effectively repealed prohibition.
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1945 – The Arab League is formed.
It outlines an alliance between a handful of Arab countries, sort of like a regional United Nations.
When Israel became a nation-state 3 years later, it became an open source of ridicule by the new alliance.
Since then, the Arab League has extended beyond the Arabian Peninsula, and into much of northern Africa. Today it is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
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1972 – The US Senate passes the Equal Rights Amendment, readying the legislation for ratification by the states.
The language in the law first surfaced in 1923 by women’s rights groups. Following the sexual revolution and the rise of feminism in the 1960s, the ideas became popular again.
Hawaii was the first state to ratify, with 30 more states following. But the amendment failed to be approved by the necessary 38 states.
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2007 – News Corp and NBC Universal ink a deal that would later spawn Hulu.
NBC had been putting content on YouTube, but was not able to effectively monetize it.
Realizing the need for a business model that allowed easy access to network programming online while still generating profit, network executives were looking for ways to archive old programs and broadcast new ones online.
The result was Hulu, which has free access with occasional ads and later, a premium membership that included an extensive backlog of many TV shows.
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2020 – Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei refuses American COVID-19 help, calling the virus a conspiracy theory that was manufactured by the US.
On this day, Iran reported over 1500 deaths from the virus — the fourth highest in the world at the time.
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Birthdays
Gig Morton – actor, “Air Bud” – 25
Nick Robinson – actor, “Melissa & Joey” & “Jurassic World” – 26
Dax – rapper – 27
JJ Watt – NFL player – 32
Constance Wu – actress, “Fresh Off the Boat” – 39
Dave Pourtney – founder of Barstool Sports – 44
Reese Witherspoon – actress, “Sweet Home Alabama” – 45
Keegan-Michael Kay – comedian – 50
Rick Harrison – reality star – 56
Matthew Modine – actor, “Stranger Things” – 62
Jay Dee Daugherty – drummer for Patti Smith – 69
Andrew Lloyd Webber – composer – 73
James Patterson – author – 74
William Shatner – actor, “Star Trek” – 90
Born On This Date
Shawty Lo – rapper – 1976 (d. 2016)
Billy Vessels – College Football Hall of Fame halfback at Oklahoma -1931 (d. 2001)
Ed Macauley – MVP of the first NBA All-Star Game – 1928 (d. 2011)
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Deaths
Kent Taylor has died.
The Texas Roadhouse founder committed suicide after grappling with “unbearable” long-term symptoms of COVID, according to a statement from the company.
He was 65.
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