Another beautiful Wednesday. We’ll spare you the “hump day” jokes and get right to it. Here are the trending stories everyone will be talking about today:
1. #Deflategate
Yesterday the NFL decided to uphold Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for intentionally deflating footballs to make them easier to grip, a.k.a. Deflategate. The decision was partly based on new evidence in the form of a cell phone Brady destroyed after investigators requested to access the text messages and other data stored on it. The NFL offered to reduce his suspension in exchange for information, but Brady remains adamant that he knows nothing about his balls. Ha. – ESPN
More: Jon Stewart rips apart Tom Brady for Deflategate
2. Sad face.
An American dentist is wanted by Zimbabwean authorities for killing Cecil the lion, Africa’s most famous big cat. The suspect, Walter Palmer, allegedly paid over $50,000 to hunt the lion and says he had no idea he’d killed a famous cat until after it was already dead. The online backlash against Palmer has been swift. His dental practice’s Yelp page has been flooded with negative reviews and his name became a hashtag on Twitter yesterday as users spent the day tweeting their outrage. As of this morning, a petition demanding justice for Cecil has over 312,000 signatures. RIP, Cecil. – CNN
3. Yikes.
The Channel Tunnel, which spans from France to Britain, has been the site of chaos and crisis the past two nights. Yesterday, more than 2,000 migrants flooded the tunnel’s entrance attempting to get into Britain. The night before, about 1,500 did the same. A Sudanese man was killed and many were injured in last night’s kerfuffle. Many of the migrants are from Africa and the Middle East and are trying to get into Great Britain so they can seek asylum and find work. – BBC
4. Zombies in the water? Well, sort of.
The Louisiana Department of Health and Human Services confirmed the presence of a brain-eating amoeba in the water system in Ascension Parish. Experts told people in the area the water is still safe to drink, but cautioned against participating in any activity where water might get up your nose. Officials have ordered a 60-day chlorine burn to eliminate any remaining amoebas. I don’t even live there and just hearing about this makes me want to start bathing in Evian. – USA Today
More: Girl dies from brain-eating amoeba: Here’s what you need to know
5. What’s in a name?
The first labeled maps of Pluto have been released. Early this year, the New Horizons team asked for submissions from the public to help them name the geological features on Pluto. The suggestions they got spanned everything from famous astronomers to Greek mythology to characters on Doctor Who. The maps feature the names chosen by the team and have been submitted for approval to make things official. Maybe someday in the distant future we’ll be able to take vacations to visit the famous Princess Leia Crater. – BuzzFeed
More: NASA broadcasts will.i.am. song from Mars
6. Amazing.
Eight-year-old Zion Harvey from Baltimore has become the youngest patient ever to receive a double hand transplant. Harvey lost his hands and feet to an infection years ago and has been using prosthetics ever since. He’ll spend several weeks in rehab adjusting to his new hands. Doctors say one of his biggest wishes is to be able to throw a football. – MSN
7. LOL.
A group of Michigan residents was tired of their city’s potholes, so they formed a “Guerilla” road repair crew and started fixing the problem themselves. They began with their own block — one guy knew where they could get some cold patch, so they made it a weekend project. It ended up going so well that they’re now raising money to fix the 120 other blocks the city can’t afford to address. Pothole party, anyone? – NPR
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