Odd News // 3 weeks ago
Ohio man’s stocking stuffer delivers $100,000 lottery prize
Jan. 30 (UPI) — An Ohio man said his father’s tradition of giving scratch-off lottery tickets as Christmas presents resulted in his winning a $100,000 prize.
Blog
-
FCC Examines Migration Of Sports Rights From Free Broadcast To Subscription Streaming
The FCC is launching a public inquiry into the migration of sports rights from free, over-the-air broadcast outlets to subscription streaming, something that has been increasing source of concern among lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
The agency is seeking public comment on the trend, with the FCC Media Bureau noting that while “streamers have helped expand access to professional and collegiate sports, they also appear to have contributed to the fragmentation of the sports media marketplace.”
The bureau noted that in 2025, NFL games aired on 10 different services, “which, according to some estimates, could cost a consumer over $1,500 to watch all games.
“In addition, 20 NFL regular season games and one playoff game were nationally distributed,
exclusively, on four different streaming services — Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Peacock, and
Netflix.”The bureau is asking a series of questions, including, “To what extent do current sports media rights contracts conflict with or impede TV broadcasters from meeting their public interest obligations? How should these arrangements be considered in the context of broadcasters’ public interest obligations and the FCC’s duty to ensure licensees meet their statutory requirements?” The query also asks what steps the FCC could take to “ensure any broadcast licensee responsibilities are fulfilled.”
Brendan Carr, the chairman of the FCC, wrote in a post on X, “For decades, Americans enjoyed turning on their TV & quickly finding the game they wanted to see. Yet watching your favorite team play isn’t as easy these day. Many games are still on broadcast, but an increasing number are on a range of different online platforms.”
Last year, the Republican leaders of the House Judiciary Committee raised the issue of streaming as they raised questions of whether major sports leagues should still get an antitrust exemption for coordinating TV broadcast rights.
The FCC’s comment period runs through March 27, with reply comments due April 13.
-
Judge Prohibits Justice Department From Searching Through Washington Post Reporter’s Phone And Other Devices
The Justice Department has been prohibited from examining the contents of a phone and other devices seized at the home of a Washington Post reporter as part of an investigation into a leak of national security information.
U.S. Magistrate Judge William Porter ruled that the court will review the devices itself, after attorneys for the Post argued that the DOJ had obtained reporter Hannah Natanson‘s sources and materials unrelated to the leak investigation.
“The Court finds that seizing the totality of a reporter’s electronic work product, including tools essential to ongoing newsgathering, constitutes a restraint on the exercise of First Amendment rights,” Porter wrote in his ruling.
Natanson’s materials were seized as part of a government investigation of Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a system administrator who has a security clearance and is accused of retaining classified intelligence reports. The reporter was told that she is not the subject of the investigation, according to the Post.
On Jan. 14, agents searched the reporter’s home and her devices and seized a phone, two laptops and a Garmin watch, according to the Post. One of the computers was issued to the reporter by the Post, the other was her personal laptop, the Post said.
Natanson has done extensive reporting on federal workers who have been targeted for firings and resignations by the Trump administration. She has chronicled how she had become the “federal government whisperer,” amassing hundreds of sources as workers inundated her with tips.
The Post is seeking the return of all of Natanson’s devices, but Porter wrote that he “finds it reasonable for the government to retain only the limited information responsive to the search warrant—and nothing
more.”But Porter has been critical of the government’s handling of the case, including the way that it obtained a search warrant for Natanson’s home. He noted that the DOJ failed to analyze the Privacy Protection Act in its search warrant application, writing that it “seriously undermined” the court’s confidence “in the government’s disclosures in this proceeding.”
“Given the documented reporting on government leak investigations and the government’s well chronicled efforts to stop them, allowing the government’s filter team to search a reporter’s work product—most of which consists of unrelated information from confidential sources—is the equivalent of leaving the government’s fox in charge of the Washington Post’s henhouse,” the judge wrote.
The Post said in a statement that they “applaud the court’s recognition of core First Amendment protections and its rejection of the government’s arguments for searching Hannah Natanson’s devices and work materials in their entirety and placing itself in charge of determining their relevance.”
Gabe Rottman, vice president of policy at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said in a statement that the judge “had a choice between carefully protecting a reporter’s confidential sources and simply letting the government riffle through Natanson’s devices. It made the right call — and the constitutionally appropriate one — by taking it upon itself to review the material and in ordering that information unrelated to the underlying investigation will be returned to Natanson.”
-
RFK Jr. and Kid Rock film shirtless workout video
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. teamed up with Kid Rock to shoot a workout video set to the tune of the latter’s 1999 song “Bawitdaba.”
The 90-second spot begins with footage of the men posing shirtless in front of what appears to be a taxidermied bear. It then shows slow-motion imagery of a shark, a military plane and a bald eagle flying, followed by the words “Rock Out Work Out.”
“I’ve teamed up with @KidRock to deliver two simple messages to the American people: GET ACTIVE + EAT REAL FOOD,” Kennedy captioned the video on social media.
I’ve teamed up with @KidRock to deliver two simple messages to the American people: GET ACTIVE + EAT REAL FOOD. pic.twitter.com/PkK8IfkPU4
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) February 17, 2026
The public service announcement features the pair in various stages of dress doing various exercises — pushups in a gym, riding a stationary bike in a sauna and playing pickleball in a room with even more taxidermied animals.
It ends with Kennedy, 72, and Kid Rock, 55, drinking whole milk in a hot tub.
Kennedy is wearing jeans throughout the video, even when he submerges himself into what seems to be a tub filled with cold water.
In its first day on social media, more than 11 million people viewed the video on X. Those included “The View” co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin, who served as the White House director of strategic communications during the first Trump administration.
“What the [bleep] did I just watch?” she wrote in response.
Kennedy made headlines last week when he reminisced about his less-healthy years with podcaster Theo Von.
“I used to snort cocaine off of toilet seats,” he confessed.
The political scion said he’s been in recovery for more than 40 years due to his struggles with drug addiction. Kennedy joked during his interview with Von that he’s “saving a seat” for Kid Rock at his rehabilitation meetings.
-
German, European Filmmakers Back Berlinale Boss
The German and European film academies have thrown their support behind Berlin Film Festival director Tricia Tuttle amid media reports that she is about to be fired following a political backlash over pro-Palestinian speeches at the Berlinale awards ceremony.
“As filmmakers in Germany and beyond, we are following the current debates surrounding the Berlinale and the proposed dismissal of Tricia Tuttle with deep concern,” the German film academy wrote in an open letter. “Recent criticism has focused on statements made from the stage. None of these remarks were made by the festival leadership itself, but by invited filmmakers. An international film festival is not a diplomatic instrument; it is a democratic cultural space worthy of protection. Its strength lies in its ability to hold divergent perspectives and to give visibility to a plurality of voices.”
The letter is signed by the academy, the German directors, screenwriters and distributors and exhibitors associations, and a who’s who of German filmmakers, including Wim Wenders, Volker Schlöndorff, Margarethe von Trotta, Dani Levy, and this year’s Berlinale Golden Bear winner Ilker Çatak (Yellow Letters). Several international directors, including Kleber Mendonça Filho, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Radu Jude, and Oren Moverman, are also signatories.
Earlier, the European Film Academy, Europe Film Promotion and sales body Europa International issued a joint statement in support of Tuttle.
“We look back on a strong and inspiring Berlinale and would like to express our sincere appreciation for the work of Tricia Tuttle as Director of the Festival,” the statement reads. “This year’s Berlinale lineup showcased a remarkable breadth of European cinema and brought together audiences and industry professionals from around the world. Under Tricia Tuttle’s leadership, the Berlinale has reinforced its role as a key international festival and marketplace for European film. We value the artistic vision and commitment she has brought to the festival. We believe her leadership provides a strong foundation for the Berlinale and for European cinema to move forward with confidence into the future.”
The letters are in response to a report that Tuttle is about to be fired. German conservative tabloid Bild reported that the German culture ministry will hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss Tuttle’s future at the festival. Without citing any sources, Bild suggested that Tuttle would be let go, just two years into her five year mandate at Berlinale director.
Bild has been leading a conservative backlash against the Berlinale following Saturday’s award ceremony, where a number of filmmakers made pro-Palestinian statements from the stage. German Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider walked out of the ceremony after Palestinian director Abdallah Al-Khatib, whose film Chronicles From The Siege won the top prize in the Perspectives section, accused the German government of “being partners in the genocide in Gaza by Israel.”
During the ceremony, several filmmakers spoke out against Israel’s military action in Gaza, including Marie-Rose Osta, whose Someday a Child won the Golden Bear for best short film; the best screenplay winner Geneviève Dulude-de Celles (Nina Roza) and Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize winner Emin Alper (Salvation).
On Tuesday, Bild ran a column by right-wing journalist Gunnar Schupelius, who accused Tuttle of having “posed for Gaza propaganda,” citing a photo of the festival director with Al-Khatib and the Chronicles From The Siege crew at the film’s Berlinale world premiere on Feb. 15.
Schupelius took offense at the Palestinian flag the crew members were holding, and the fact that several men were wearing the traditional Palestinian headscarf, or keffiyeh, which he called “the Arafat scarf, the symbol of armed struggle against Israel.” He accused Tuttle of allowing the Berlinale to be used as a tool by “antisemitic” activists.
In its letter, the German film academy dismissed such claims.
“Being photographed with international guests is part of the practice of such a festival. The visibility of different identities is not an endorsement; it is an expression of an open and democratic public sphere,” the letter reads. “When personnel consequences are drawn from individual statements or symbolic interpretations, a troubling signal is sent: cultural institutions come under political pressure.”
The academy warned that threatening to fire Tuttle because of statements made by festival guests would put “artistic freedom” and the “institutional independence” of the Berlinale under threat. The independence of cultural institutions, they argue, “safeguards not only artistic freedom, but the vitality of democratic discourse itself. If every controversy leads to institutional repercussions, discourse gives way to control. We stand for a culture of exchange, not intimidation. Where diversity remains visible, democracy remains alive.”
The Berlinale confirmed the Thursday meeting with the German Culture Ministry but declined to comment further.
Ironically, the controversy comes after two weeks in which pro-Palestinian activists accused Tuttle and this year’s festival jury president Wenders of showing insufficient public solidarity with the Palestinians, even of “censoring” filmmakers who wished to express pro-Palestinian or anti-Israeli views.
-
MrBeast Editor Accused of Insider Trading on Kalshi
An editor for MrBeast has been referred to federal regulators for allegedly making insider bets on prediction market Kalshi.
The company announced on Wednesday that Artem Kaptur, the MrBeast employee, traded roughly $4,000 on markets related to Jimmy Donaldson’s videos. He had “near-perfect trading success” on bets with low odds by leveraging access to nonpublic information, Kalshi said.
The disclosure of the investigation’s results — a first for the company — comes amid prediction markets looking to gain a foothold in Hollywood. It’s largely viewed as an untapped source of monetization to drive engagement, and dealmakers are happy to take the money. The Golden Globes became the first program this year to feature real-time odds for each award when it partnered with Polymarket. “By pairing cultural debate with market-based probabilities, we’re giving fans a new, more interactive way to follow the show as it unfolds,” said Polymarket founder and CEO Shayne Coplan in a statement.
Wagers on MrBeast are among several obscure bets people can make on the platform. They include what Donaldson will say in his next video (billion? car? Saudi Arabia?), the duration of his next upload and if he’ll donate to East Carolina University athletics programs. The nature of these kinds of trades, critics say, make Kalshi highly vulnerable to insider trading and manipulation.
Kalshi said its surveillance systems flagged Artem’s statistically anomalous wins. At the same time, a number of users sent the company tips about unusual trading volume for those bets since the trading data is publicly available.
“We investigated and found that the trader was employed as an editor for the streamer’s show and likely had access to material non-public information connected to his trading,” the company said.
Artem was fined over $20,000 and suspended from Kalshi for over two years. The case was reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the regulatory agency that oversees prediction markets.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Beast Industries said the company has “no tolerance for this behavior” and that it has a “longstanding policy in place against employees using proprietary company information.” It added, “We’ve already initiated an independent investigation as part of our overall ongoing efforts to ensure the integrity of our workplace and trust with our global audiences.”
-
Paramount Skydance Sees Q4 Loss Widen After TV Downturn Amid New Effort to Acquire Warner
Paramount Skydance, in the midst of pursuing a acquisition of Warner Bros, Discovery, saw downturns in revenue from TV advertising and distribution in the fourth quarter, which helped to spur a wider loss for the period, even as revenue increased in its streaming and film operations.
The owner of the CBS broadcast network and Paramount+ posted a loss that widened from the year-earlier period, to $573 million from $224 million, despite a 2% increase in revenue.
Paramount posts its fourth quarter results as it is intensifying its chase for Warner Bros. Discovery, which is considering a revamped Paramount bid to buy all of the company even though it has already struck an agreement to sell its HBO Max streaming service and Warner studios to Netflix.
“Over the past six months, we have made meaningful progress,” said David Ellison, Paramount’s CEO, in a letter to shareholders, noting that executives “remain confident in the path we’ve set to transform this company for the future.”
Paramount said revenue grew 10% at its streaming operations, to $2.21 billion, while revenue from filmed entertainment rose 16% to nearly $1.26 billion. But revenue fell 5% at the company’s largest business, its TV networks, to $4.7 billion, compared with nearly $4.98 billion in the year-earlier period. Paramount said TV advertising during the quarter fell 10%, while distribution revenue fell 7%.
The company projected better times ahead, calling for a 4% uptick in revenue for all of 2026, while guiding Wall Street to a projection of revenue of $7.15 billion to $7.35 billion for the first quarter of the year. Those figures would represent a decline of 1% to an uptick of 2% in revenue for the period.
An acquisition of Warner would help boost the company’s economics, Ellison said in the letter. The company views Warner “as an accelerant” to achieving its goals “more quickly, in a way that is economically compelling for Paramount shareholders.”
More to come…
-
Martin Short and Steve Martin Comedy Show Postponed After Death of Short’s Daughter
Martin Short has postponed his comedy tour with Steve Martin following the death of his daughter.
Katherine Short, whom Short adopted with his late wife, Nancy Dolman, died Monday. She was 42. She died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Los Angeles coroner.
All February dates for “The Best of Steve Martin & Martin Short” have been postponed, and it’s unclear when the tour will resume. Short and Martin’s show was scheduled to commence on Friday at Milwaukee’s Miller High Life Theatre, with another stop on Saturday at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. A message on the Milwaukee venue’s website reads, “Due to unforeseen circumstances, Steve Martin & Martin Short’s show, originally scheduled for Friday, February 27th in Milwaukee, has been postponed. Tickets will be honored for a future rescheduled date.” The Orpheum website shares a similar message.
The duo has tour dates set through December; their next stop at Washington, D.C.’s Dar Constitution Hall on March 13 does not currently have a delay notice.
Short and Dolman, who died of ovarian cancer in 2010, also shared two sons, Henry and Oliver. Katherine graduated from New York University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and gender sexuality studies in 2006, then earned her master’s in social work at USC. She worked at UCLA’s Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital before going into private practice, according to People magazine.
“It is with profound grief that we confirm the passing of Katherine Hartley Short,” Martin Short’s rep said on Monday in a statement. “The Short family is devastated by this loss, and asks for privacy at this time. Katherine was beloved by all and will be remembered for the light and joy she brought into the world.”
-
‘Avatar: Fire & Ash’ Success Lifts Imax Quarterly Earnings
James Cameron’s return to Pandora with “Avatar: Fire & Ash” meant big business for Imax. Revenue at the exhibition technology company climbed 35% to $125.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to $92.7 million in the year-ago period. The company said that the third “Avatar” film, which Cameron urged moviegoers to see in Imax, drove record box office for the quarter, contributing $112 million in ticket sales to become Imax’s highest grossing Hollywood film.
However, net income for the quarter shrank 64% to $2.5 million, down from $6.9 million in the same period in 2024. Imax also reported adjusted earnings per-share of 58 cents, compared to the 27 cents per-share it logged a year earlier. Included in the results is $22 million of one-time charges, including $15 million for the repurchase of over 99% of convertible notes due 2026.
Movie theaters have struggled to regain their popularity since COVID shut down the sector more than five years ago. Yet Imax has continued to draw crowds with filmmakers like Cameron, Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve all using the company’s cameras to shoot their blockbusters. Looking ahead, Imax said it is targeting a record $1.4 billion in global box office in 2026, citing Nolan’s “The Odyssey” and Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Three,” both of which were filmed using the company’s technology, as big draws. The company also predicted that upcoming releases such as “The Mandalorian and Grogu” and “Project Hail Mary” will play well on its screens.
“We believe we are far from our peak, but rather, in a period of evolution and growth,” Imax chief Richard Gelfond told analysts on an earnings call. “With superior immersive technology and unmatched scale, Imax is the premiere global platform for blockbuster content. And blockbuster content continues to grow in importance across the ecosystem. The world’s greatest filmmakers, studios, even streamers — are leaning into blockbuster theatrical releases, as drivers of IP and value throughout the chain. As this trend accelerates, Imax becomes an increasingly valuable player. We’re the only game in town with a global platform, content portfolio and well-recognized brand.”
-
Hilary Knight trying to move on from President Donald Trump’s ‘distasteful joke’ after Olympic hockey wins
Hilary Knight isn’t happy with what President Donald Trump said to the men’s hockey team on a phone call shortly after they beat Canada to win gold at the Olympics on Sunday.
But she’s just trying to move on from that “distasteful joke” he made and focus on actually celebrating the women’s team’s gold medal win at the Milan Cortina Olympics instead.
“I thought it was sort of a distasteful joke, and unfortunately, that is overshadowing a lot of the success, the success of just women at the Olympics carrying for Team USA and having amazing gold medal feats,” Knight said on ESPN on Wednesday.
“We’re just focusing on celebrating the women in our room, the extraordinary efforts, and continue to celebrate three gold medals in program history as well as the double gold for both men’s and women’s at the same time. And really not detract from that with a distasteful joke.”
Trump drew significant criticism on Sunday after a video emerged of him congratulating the men’s hockey team for also winning gold at the Olympics. Near the end of the call, after inviting the men’s team to his State of the Union address, he laughed and told players that, “We’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that. I do probably believe I would be impeached [if I didn’t].”
Advertisement
That comment drew laughs from men’s players in the locker room. FBI director Kash Patel was the one who called Trump after Team USA’s win. Patel flew to Italy and celebrated with the team in the locker room, something that also received blowback.
Though they were eventually invited, the women’s team declined to attend the State of the Union address on Tuesday night, citing “previously scheduled academic and professional commitments.” Trump has since claimed that they “will soon be coming,” but the women’s hockey team has not committed to a visit.
A large portion of the men’s team did attend and met Trump at the White House on Tuesday. Trump also said that he was going to give goalie Connor Hellebuyck the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“We’re really happy for them,” Quinn Hughes, a member of the men’s hockey team, said on Tuesday. “[There’s] a lot going on around social media right now surrounding our team and their team, but in the last couple summers, we did a lot of training with them and got to know a lot of those girls really well.”
Kight said that feeling was mutual, even if everything that has happened since the win has dominated the story.
“I think there’s a genuine level of support there and respect,” she said. “I think that’s being overshadowed by a quick lapse. I think the guys were in a tough spot, so I think it’s a shame this storyline and narrative has kind of blown up and overshadowing that connection and genuine interest in one another and cheering each other on.”
Knight wasn’t alone on the women’s team in speaking out, either.
Advertisement
Hayley Sacamurra was asked about it on “The Hockey Lifers” show on Tuesday, and said simply that “the call was what it was.”
“Honestly like, the outpouring of love and support we’ve kind of received since that has outweighed any other feelings that I have,” she said. “I’m really just focused on the positives … Honestly, I just want to focus on how great our team is and how dominant we were the whole tournament. We got double gold, men’s and women’s side, like that is so incredible. I want to celebrate that, and I don’t want that to be overshadowed.”
Knight, 36, announced in May that she would retire after the Olympics. She won her second gold medal and is now the most decorated U.S. women’s hockey player in history. She leads all American hockey players, men or women, with 15 Olympic goals and 33 points in her career. She scored the tying goal to force overtime with Canada in the gold medal game, too.
The win was Team USA’s third gold at the Olympics since women’s hockey was added to the Games in 1998.
“[This is a] really good learning point, to really focus on how we talk about women, not only in sport but in industry,” Knight said. “Women aren’t less than and their achievements shouldn’t be overshadowed by anything else other than how great they are.”