STATUS UPDATES
A week in which a coin toss leads to ‘madness’ and AMLO tries to sell you his jet
IMPROVISED: A coin toss in a Women’s Super League soccer game in England. Referee David McNamara didn’t have a coin so he asked the two captains to play rock-paper-scissors. Now he’s been suspended for 21 days. A Football Association official called it “a moment of madness.”
RECOUPING: Some of the costs of Mexico’s presidential jet. Incoming presidente Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is touting the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner as he searches for a buyer, to fulfil a populist pledge. “If you want to buy it, I’ll deliver it personally. It’s not just about the price … it’s about the fame!”
SCRAMBLED: GPS location signals in Norway, during a large NATO drill in the Arctic. Norway raised the issue with Russia, accusing its forces of jamming the signals. Finland had similar problems recently. The NATO exercise was said to be its largest since the Cold War — which some claim is over.
THIRSTING: The French, for American wine. At least according to parts of Donald Trump’s anti-French “tempête
de tweets.” Trump threatened wine tariffs: “The problem is that France makes it very hard for the U.S. to sell its wines into France, and charges big Tariffs … . Not fair, must change!”
DELIBERATE: Whoever is slashing Mel B’s tires. The Spice Girl, victimized twice this year, asked on Instagram: “What dangerous sick person would do that to a mother who uses her car to drive her kids to school and back …” Her past musings implied that she knows the identity of the puncturer.
REPAYING: The $5,000 fee for a former porn star to speak at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The school apologized for the attention and the chancellor promised to reimburse Nina Hartley’s fee, paid from a discretionary fund. She spoke about female empowerment, consent and fantasies.
ADDLED: The new coach of Spanish top-division soccer team Celta Vigo. Miguel Cardoso got off to an embarrassing start as he mistakenly thanked rival Deportivo La Coruna for hiring him. The mix-up in his introduction — “Real Club Deportivo” instead of “Real Club Celta” — occurred with the club president by his side.
SATISFIED: The Blackpool police, that they’ve found their man. The seaside English town was the site of a routine theft — except the suspect resembled Friends actor David Schwimmer. The alleged beer-case stealer was arrested after a public appeal went viral. Schwimmer denied involvement.