Let's Do The News! (March 25, 2024)

      

Your daily round-up of today's news...

- About one million pertussis vaccines are expected to arrive in the Philippines this June. A certain health expert says that mandatory face mask wearing is recommended as the PH government and the public, Senator Bong Go said, need to cooperate against the spread of pertussis (whopping cough).

- The PH Department of Energy warns that the Luzon Grid will possibly be placed under "Yellow Alert" by April-May.

- NBI forces from Timor Leste have returned but no sign of former congressman Arnie Teves.

- The nationwide earthquake drill in the Philippines kicked off with the "ceremonial activity" at Camp Aguinaldo.

- Russia mourns victims of last Friday's concert hall attack that killed hundreds. People queued to lay flowers at a makeshift shrine to the victims of the atrocity. Two men have been charged with committing an act of terrorism. Four gunmen who attacked the concert hall in Moscow have been charged with terrorism.

- In a rare audio statement, the reclusive leader of the Afghan Taliban warns that the movement will toughen how they enforce their version of Islamic law.

- Senegal held its delayed presidential elections peacefully.

- Simon Harris is set to become the next Irish Prime Minister after being named leader of the Fine Gael Party. Harris replaces Leo Varadkar, who announced his resignation last week.

- The last Audi R8 rolled off the assembly line, marking the end of Audi's only supercar.

- The TV anime The Apothecary Diaries will return this 2025 for its second season.

- Shohei Ohtani briefly came into the Dodgers clubhouse and declared he would make himself available to reporters -- and address the illegal gambling and theft allegations levied against his former interpreter -- the following afternoon.

- TWICE member Jihyo and Physical:100 finalist Yun Sung Bin are reportedly dating. Both agencies respond to the dating rumors.

TTFN.

2024 NASCAR Cup Series - EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix

It's the first NASCAR road course racing of the season as they went to the Circuit of the Americas for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. With former Supercars champion Shane Van Gisbergen and WEC champion Kamui Kobayashi joining in the fun, it became a Palm Sunday race to remember.

As the green flag waved, the Palm Sunday racing action began with Stage 1 saw Harrison Burton spinning off the front of Josh Berry in turn 11 on Lap 2. As Christopher Bell wins Stage 1, Stage 2 saw Josh Berry spinning in turn 11 in Lap 21 followed by Kyle Larson after contact with Christopher Bell a lap later. Lap 24 saw Shane Van Gisbergen penalized for speeding at the pits while Kamui Kobayashi spun a lap later after contact from Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

As Denny Hamlin won Stage 2, the last stage saw Kyle Busch spinning in turn 1 on Lap 41 while Erik Jones got penalized for speeding to the pits on Lap 49, Kamui Kobayashi spun again in turn 11 on Lap 53, and Brad Keselowski on Lap 60. The final lap saw a one-on-one clash between William Byron and Christopher Bell for the win.

Screengrab from NASCAR

After an intense Palm Sunday riot in COTA, William Byron wins the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix of the NASCAR Cup Series!

The next race is at Richmond Raceway for the Toyota Owners 400 this Easter Sunday, March 31st.

NTT IndyCar Series 2024 - Thermal $1 Million Challenge

This is IndyCar's equivalent of the NASCAR ALL-STAR RACE, the Thermal $1 Million Challenge. As the name implies, the winner gets half the prize while the other half will be donated to the driver's charity of choice.

As Felix Rosenqvist wins Heat 1 and Alex Palou wins Heat 2, the first non-points race in IndyCar history since 2008 has kicked off with 20 laps to decide who will win the $1 million challenge. With no single incident, this race became smooth sailing for Palou and he locked his eyes on the million-dollar prize.

Screengrab from IndyCar

Alex Palou wins the $1 Million Challenge in The Thermal Club. Half of his proceeds will go to the charity of his choice.

The next race is at Long Beach for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach this April 21.

F1 2024: Rolex Australian Grand Prix

The F1 24 season continues with the Rolex Australian Grand Prix and with Carlos Sainz back to work, Ferrari's back in fighting form as it tries to fend off Max Verstappen and the others.

As the lights went off, the action in Melbourne was underway with Max Verstappen's promising start until Lap 4 saw his car smoke, forcing him to retire on Lap 5. With Verstappen out, it's the turn of Lewis Hamilton to throw in the towel on Lap 17 due to engine failure. As the returning Sainz continued to maintain his lead, the final lap saw disaster for George Russell as his car crashed and nearly flipped but he survived.

Screengrab from Formula 1

The returning Carlos Sainz led Ferrari to a 1-2 finish with Charles Leclerc finishing 2nd. McLaren driver Lando Norris completes the podium with a third-place finish. Fernando Alonso was demoted to P8 after being given a 20-second penalty for the late-race incident involving George Russell.

After Australia, Verstappen remains in the lead with 51 points while Charles Leclerc is in 2nd with 47 points, and Sergio Perez is in third with 46 points.

The next race is the MSC Cruises Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka this April 6th.

2024 Repco Supercars Championship - MSS Security Melbourne SuperSprint

The 2024 Repco Supercars Championship continues in Albert Park, the venue that the Formula 1 camp will be using for its Australian Grand Prix campaign, for the MSS Security Melbourne SuperSprint.

Photo: Supercars

As expected, only those who were inside the track for Supercars action have witnessed it because due to international broadcast rights associated with the F1 2024's Australian Grand Prix, their usual highlights and live video coverage of the Repco Supercars Championship events are not available.

Here's the TL;DR summary of the four-part action in Albert Park, moments before the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix occurred; Broc Feeney won Thursday and Saturday's races, Will Brown won the Friday race, and Nick Percat won the final race of the Melbourne SuperSprint. Winning two out of four races, Broc Feeney earned the Perkins Trophy.

After Melbourne, Will Brown leads with 575 points, 17 points ahead of Broc Feeney, while Chaz Mostert's in third with 478.

The next event is the first-ever ITM Taupō Super400 this April 19-21 at the Taupō International Motorsport Park.

Let's Do The News! (March 23, 2024)

     

Your daily round-up of today's news...

- The Management Association of the Philippines has urged the government to declare a "state of calamity" in Metro Manila because of its worsening traffic congestion that costs the economy an estimated 3.5 billion pesos a day.

- Two Chinese Coast Guard vessels fired water cannons on a Philippine supply boat near Ayungin Shoal, deliberately targeting and hitting the supply boat, sustaining heavy damages.

- 60 people were killed and hundreds were hurt following a gun attack at a concert hall in Moscow.

- Russia and China vetoed a US resolution at the United Nations, which called for the immediate ceasefire in Gaza tied to the release of hostages.

- Princess of Wales Kate revealed she was diagnosed with cancer. The Princess of Wales says she is undergoing chemotherapy after her cancer diagnosis. The Kensington Palace said the Princess' announcement came as a "huge shock".

- VANNER member Sungkook announced his plans to enlist in the military. Sungkook would be enlisting on May 7, according to agency KLAP Entertainment's statement.

- The FA has defended the St. George's Cross design on its new England kit, saying "it's not the first time" different colors have been used. Nike said its design was to celebrate the 1966 World Cup team but the design drew criticism from British PM Rishi Sunak and Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer.

- Major League Baseball has opened a formal investigation into the matter surrounding Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.

- Filipina Maria Gigante was crowned Universal Woman 2024.

TTFN.

My FH5 Log: Euro Trash

Would you look at that? The European Automotive update of Forza Horizon 5 is constantly littered with European junk cars out from the junkyard and into the ever-growing FH5 car roster. The cesspool of junk cars keeps on growing.

First up is the Lancia Fulvia from the Hot Season Playlist. Powered by a 1.3L V4 engine, it's the car that made Lancia win its first World Rally Championship. Not bad for a front-wheel-drive coupe that costs more than the Jaguar E-Type when it was new.

Next up is the Citroen DS 23 from the Storm Season Playlist. This is the iconic hatchback that first introduced Citroen's signature hydropneumatic self-leveling suspension system which uses liquid hydraulic and gas-pressured suspension instead of springs, giving it a comfy ride on all kinds of road surfaces. It was the first to use disc brakes.

Fresh from the Dry Season Playlist is the Series 4 Lotus Esprit, the last V8-powered Lotus ever made and one of the last production cars with pop-up headlights.

The Hot Season Playlist featured a double bill of German garbage; the Volkswagen Double Cab Pick-up and the Mercedes-Benz 500 E. The Doka is basically the pickup variant of the Volkswagen Type 2 minibus while the 500 E is the V8-powered variant of the W124 E-Class made from a Porsche factory.

Let's give the quintuplet of European garbage a good dirty driving just showcase just how good these rusty beaters from the Old Continent were. Roll the tapes.

These rusty beaters proved their point but as it turned out, they were nothing compared to the worst European toxic waste of the pack; the AMG Hammer Wagon from the European Automotive DLC Pack.

The AMG Hammer Wagon is a one-off W214 wagon built for a client from the USA. Started out in life as a diesel-powered W214 wagon until the original owner commissioned AMG to convert it into a super wagon, armed with a 6.0L V8 engine producing 375hp of power while mated to a 4-speed AT. It even comes with a locking differential to help the rear axle endure the punishment from the V8 engine, among others.

Want to see how the AMG Hammer Wagon roars? You're in luck because let's get the tape rolling.

The latest batch of toxic waste dump proves that the cesspool of rusty beaters never stops growing, giving Gen Z players uncontrollable anxiety, complaining about why the Forza producers keep dumping junk cars in such a wonderful racing game.

Are we seeing more junk cars in the next FH5 series update next week? Yes, there will be junk cars next week so brace yourselves for more rusty beaters ruining your FH5 experience.