- Thumbs up to… Maine and Colorado for removing Donald Trump from their primary state ballot. On Sept. 6 of last year, six Colorado voters filed a 115-page lawsuit that asked the state court to bar Trump from obtaining ballots from the state of Colorado. This decision would cause all the members of Colorado’s state court to enter a discussion on the subject for three consecutive months and thirteen days, before being ruled on Dec. 19, 2023 – nine days before the state court of Maine would ultimately do the same. Both decisions had proper reason to be passed thanks to Trump’s last-ditch bid to stay president on Jan. 6, 2021, by summoning a mob of his supporters to attack the Capitol in the hopes of overturning the Nov. 3 electoral results. This directly interfered with Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, also known as “The Insurrectionist Ban.” Now Trump has something to worry about for the upcoming presidential election, as these actions have caused states all around the country to ponder on doing the same. https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2023/12/29/maine-colorado-trump-ballot-next-steps/72010635007/
Thumbs up to… Lily Gladstone for becoming the first indigenous woman to win a Golden Globe for Best Actress. On Jan. 7, the actress accepted a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Osage woman Mollie Burkhart in Martin Scorsese's “Killers of the Flower Moon,” before delivering her acceptance speech to everyone in attendance, with a part of it being spoken in Gladstone’s native Blackfeet language. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/lily-gladstone-makes-history-first-indigenous-person-golden-globe-best-actress-180983549/
- Thumbs up to… Willis Gibson for becoming the first documented player to officially beat Tetris. The 13-year-old gamer achieved this victory on Dec. 21, thanks to a technicality he unintentionally utilized, reaching the falling blocks game’s “kill screen,” a particular point in which the game’s code breaks, leading to it suddenly crashing. Even though it may not be seen as a victory by many, it is still a highly coveted achievement in the gaming world, ranking it among many others that have pushed the limits of a game’s software and hardware to its full limitations. https://www.foxnews.com/us/boy-13-becomes-first-documented-player-beat-tetris
- Thumbs down to… Francesca Gino, for falsifying her reports on dishonesty. The 48-year-old Italian-American behavioral scientist was once seen as a prominent professor at Harvard Business School, who authored dozens of studies in the field of behavioral science – specifically, dishonesty and unethical behavior. However, several people, a colleague of hers included, have come forward with claims that she had altered data on at least four papers in recent weeks. Upon receiving said claims, Harvard Business School immediately put her on administrative leave, as they continue to root through these claims for more evidence on the scandal. https://www.npr.org/2023/06/26/1184289296/harvard-professor-dishonesty-francesca-gino
Thumbs down to… Astrobotic Technology for stopping its plan due to a propulsion malfunction. After its Monday launch from Florida, the moon lander Peregrine encountered a “critical” fuel leak mid-flight, causing the company that built it to abandon its plan to complete the first-ever moon landing in over half a century. The private company turned Peregrine towards the sun so the lander could charge the solar-powered batteries it had onboard, in the hopes of getting the lander as close to the moon as possible before the battery was fully depleted. https://spaceflightnow.com/2024/01/08/peregrine-lander-suffers-propulsion-anomaly-moon-landing-seemingly-unlikely/
- Thumbs down to… Deobra Redden for attacking a judge before receiving his prison sentence. The 30-year-old Nevadian was initially charged with “attempted battery with substantial bodily harm” and was brought before Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus to be judged on the case. Redden tried to convince Holthus that he was trying to make a change about himself and left his violent past behind, in the hopes of gaining parole. However, the judge was not moved by his words and went about to sentencing him. Before she could, though, Redden leaped over the defense counsel table, rushed through the well of the courtroom, and, in the words of one of the witnesses, jumped over the judicial bench “superman style” and slammed into Holthus before she passed down her ruling and attacked her. The brief assault ended before Redden could do any true damage to the judge, and he was swiftly taken into custody by the officers in attendance. Holthus eventually was able to properly sentence Redden to 19 months to four years in prison for the initial battery case. Separate from that case, Redden now faces additional charges under a new judge of “coercion with force or threat of force,” “extortion,” “intimidating public officers with the use of force,” “disregard of the safety of person/property,” “battery by prisoner” and seven counts of “battery on a protected person” for his actions. https://nypost.com/2024/01/05/news/vegas-judge-attacker-debora-redden-blames-courtroom-dustup-on-bad-day-claims-tried-to-kill-her-as-he-refuses-to-appear-in-court-report/