Newsletter: Trump’s latest issue with his trial? Blocked protests

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Hello fellow web crawlers! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr. 

Our top stories today are about: Trump leaving out some key context in his latest complaint about his hush money trial, a woman going viral for trying to find out what creepy crawler she found in her pantry food, Tucker Carlson getting ridiculed over his claims about aliens and evolution, and actor Alec Baldwin being involved in a viral altercation. 

After that, our Assistant Editor Kira has a “Decoding Fandom” column for you. 

See you tomorrow! 

— A.W. 

⚡ Today’s top stories

🗣️ POLITICS
‘SO UNFAIR!!!’: Trump complains protesters can’t demonstrate near trial—days after man self-immolated outside courthouse

Former President Donald Trump complained that his supporters can’t demonstrate near the New York courthouse where his hush money trial is taking place, but Trump neglected to mention a man had self-immolated outside the courthouse just days prior.

➤ READ MORE

🐛 WTF
‘This makes me want to throw everything in my pantry out’: Woman finds something unusual in her red pepper flakes, oatmeal

A woman asked people online for help figuring out what creepy crawler infiltrated her pantry—specifically her red pepper flakes and oatmeal.

➤ READ MORE

📺 MEDIA
‘Even Joe Rogan couldn’t go along with it:’ Tucker Carlson ridiculed over claims about aliens, evolution

Tucker Carlson’s appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast quickly went viral after the former Fox News host shared his theories on UFOs and evolution.

➤ READ MORE

🤳 VIRAL
‘Don’t make me like him’: Even Alec Baldwin’s critics are taking his side after viral confrontation with pro-Palestine protester

Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin is garnering unlikely sympathy online following a viral video in which someone repeatedly demanded he say “Free Palestine.”

➤ READ MORE

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⭐ Decoding Fandom

By Kira Deshler
Assistant Newsletter Editor

Can WNBA fans make the league profitable?

In each edition of web_crawlr we have exclusive original content every day. On Wednesdays our Assistant Newsletter Editor Kira Deshler dives deep into the world of fan culture in her “Decoding Fandom” column. If you want to read columns like this before everyone else, subscribe to web_crawlr to get your daily scoop of internet culture delivered straight to your inbox.

🕸️ Crawling the web

Here is what else is happening across the ‘net.

💵 A woman’s refusal to tip on a tip pad for employees who did “absolutely nothing” is inspiring others to do the same.

🌮 One man filmed an empty Taco Bell location and blamed the lack of customers on the state’s newly mandated minimum wage for fast-food workers, but many viewers had a different take on the situation. 

🍗 Chick-fil-A recently announced it was going to make the switch from a strict no antibiotics in its chicken policy to only using antibiotics when necessary, like when an animal gets sick. This has fans of Chick-fil-A worried about how the chicken will now taste. 

📅 If you’re a retail or service industry worker, listen up. This could be the difference between you getting your time off or not.

🚗 A Colorado-based auto repair shop went viral after sharing a video of mechanics sharing the most common maintenance mistakes car owners make.

✈️ Viewers are divided after a Southwest Airlines passenger denounced the company’s early check-in policy as a “scam” in a viral video. 

🏈 From the Daily Dot archive: From sponsorships to merch, college athletes can now use their personal brands to monetize the internet.

📝 Question of the Day

Everyone’s got opinions, and we want to know yours. Just click a button below to answer the question, and tomorrow we will let you know how fellow web crawlers like you answered. 

DO YOU WATCH BASKETBALL?

To answer questions like this in the future, sign up for web_crawlr here.

👋 Before you go

A TikTok video of a customer writing down his order in an attempt to help an overwhelmed server has gone viral on the video-sharing platform. Now the small gesture is receiving praise from other servers.

The video, originally posted by TikTok user Natasha Rae (@natasharae__), has a runtime of only 6 seconds and is accompanied by a text overlay that reads: “POV: Writing down our orders to make the waiter’s life easier since he was working all alone.”

Since its posting, the video has racked up over 818,000 views and more than a 100 comments, many of which are praising the idea and calling for it to become a norm.

🎶 Now Playing: “GOAT” by Ari Lennox 🎶