Not notable, but interesting

‘Operational issue’ closes Chicago’s federal courthouse, delays R. Kelly trial

https://wgntv.com/news/r-kelly-trial/operational-issue-closes-chicagos-federal-courthouse-delays-r-kelly-trial-report

An “operational issue” has prompted the temporary closure of Chicago’s federal courthouse on Tuesday, pausing in-person courthouse proceedings, including R. Kelly’s child pornography and obstruction of justice trial, the court announced Monday night.

An alert posted Monday night to the Northern District of Illinois’ website read: “The Dirksen Courthouse will be closed on Tuesday, September 6th due to an operational issue at the Courthouse. The Courthouse will be closed, and jury trials will be suspended for one day.”

Kelly’s trial — entering its fourth week — was set to resume at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Jurors were last in court on Thursday, when they heard the first witnesses called by Kelly and his two co-defendants. That same day, Kelly told U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber that he would not testify in his own defense.

Leinweber opted to give the jury Friday off, in addition to Monday’s Labor Day holiday.

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South Dakota names viral ‘corn kid’ its official ‘corn-bassador’

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/3629125-south-dakota-names-viral-corn-kid-its-official-corn-bassador

A boy who went viral for his effusive praise of corn was invited to South Dakota’s “Corn Palace” and named the state’s official “Corn-Bassador” over the weekend.

The state’s Department of Tourism welcomed “Corn Kid” Tariq — whose commentary on corn in a Recess Therapy video was turned into a viral TikTok audio — to “the World’s Only Corn Palace” in Mitchell, South Dakota.

In the viral video, 7-year-old Tariq says that when he tried corn with butter, “everything changed.”

He famously described the vegetable as “a big lump with knobs” and juice. “I can’t imagine a more beautiful thing,” Tariq said in the interview.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) issued a proclamation rife with puns and references to Tariq’s viral video — declaring Sept. 3 as “Official Corn-bassador Tariq Day.”

“South Dakota is one of the top corn producers in the nation, providing nourishment to people across the globe but especially to Tariq, a 7-year-old boy who recently discovered that corn was real,” Noem noted in her declaration.

“Since being told that corn was real, Tariq believes wholeheartedly it tastes good, especially with butter; and… Tariq’s determination that corn is “awesome” and “a big lump with knobs (and) juice” has led him to be unable to imagine a more beautiful thing.”

Per local media, Tariq will also receive a scholarship to learn about South Dakota’s agrotourism industry.

I wonder how many of these cities are blue…(Run by, or populated by Democrats)

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The rudest U.S. cities, according to residents

https://preply.com/en/blog/rudest-cities

Key findings

• The rudest U.S. cities include Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Memphis, Tennessee, and New York City, New York, according to their own residents.

• The most common rude behaviors in the US include people being absorbed by their phones, refusing to let people merge in traffic, and being noisy in shared spaces.

• Memphis ranked highest in five common rude behaviors, the most of any city.

• Of the total respondents, 76% agree that Americans tend to act rudely when traveling abroad, even if it’s unintentional.

Great show, Joe! Pitifully small crowd of union workers rock up to support President Biden's Labor Day speech in Pennsylvania as his crucial midterm election campaign ramps up

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11183569/Pitifully-small-crowd-union-workers-rock-support-President-Bidens-Labor-Day-speech.html

• A miniscule crowd greeted President Joe Biden as he showed up in Pennsylvania on Labor Day in support of Lt. Gov John Fetterman's efforts to defeat Dr. Oz in the state's Senate race

• The event was held at a steelworkers union hall outside of Pittsburgh

• When remarking on the paltry crowd that showed up to the event, one person tweeted: 'Trump fills stadiums, Biden has to count his security detail as part of his 'crowd''

• Earlier in the day, the president held a similar rally in Wisconsin, where he called a Trump supporter who shouted at him during his speech an 'idiot'

While some professional photos from the event concealed just how sparse the crowd was, others showed the paltry number of people who showed up to hear the president's words.

The appearance marked the president's third trip to Pennsylvania in the space of a week. Biden was in town to support Lt. Gov John Fetterman's efforts to defeat Dr. Oz in the state's Senate race this November in the midterms.

Prior to this Labor Day appearance, Biden, 79, gave a similar speech in Wisconsin.

Among the speakers at the event were the Democratic senate candidate John Fetterman, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations President Liz Shuler and Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh.

During her remarks, Shuler read out a list of Democratic candidates who she believed her union members would be supporting while Walsh referred to Biden as 'unbelievably awesome,' according to Bloomberg's Jennifer Jacobs.

The president's meager crowd was roundly mocked on social media. The official Republican Party fact-checking Twitter account tweeted Jacobs' picture of the event.

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