January 31 Edition Go Back
Today in the World Countries
- Independence Day is being celebrated in Nauru
Today in Astrology
- People born on this day are Aquarius as their zodiac sign.
Today in History
Happening Today
- EVENTS
- Pope Francis lands in Kinshasa on a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, first papal visit to the country since 1985.
- BIRTHS
- Hugo Rodrãguez, Guitarist, born in Argentina.
- DEATHS
- Charlie Thomas, American pop singer (The Drifters,1958-67 - "Sweets For My Sweet" ; "Save The Last Dance For Me"), who died of liver cancer at 85.
- MOVIES
- Pamela, a love story - Not Rated is released.
An intimate and humanizing portrait of one of the world’s most famous blonde bombshells, Pamela, a love story follows the trajectory of Pamela Anderson’s life and career from small town girl to international sex symbol, actress, activist and doting mother. - TV SERIES
- Cunk on Earth: Season 1 is released.
Philomena Cunk (Diane Morgan) hosts a series of documentaries about human development in this British mockumentary series created by Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker.[Premiered originally in the UK on BBC Two on 19 Sep 2022; in the US on Netflix on 31 Jan 2023]
On this day in 2022
- EVENTS
- British government report finds "a failure of leadership" led to parties taking place in Downing Street when UK under strict lockdown, amid a police investigation.
- Online word puzzle Wordle bought for “low seven figure sum” by The New York Times.
- DEATHS
- Mike Nykoluk, Canadian ice hockey coach (NHL's 1st full-time assistant coach - Philadelphia Flyers,1972-78), and (head coach - Toronto Maple Leafs,1980-84), who died at 87.
- Carleton Carpenter, American magician, stage and screen actor (Two Weeks With Love; Up Periscope), songwriter, and mystery novelist (Cat Got Your Tongue?),, who died at 95.
On this day in 2021
- EVENTS
- Widespread protests in Russia against detention of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the government with 5,000 people arrested.
- DEATHS
- Mark Beard, Race Car Driver.
- TV SERIES
- The Lady and the Dale: Season 1 is released.
The four-part documentary series produced by Mark and Jay Duplass looks at the life of Elizabeth Carmichael, her promise of a fuel-efficient, three-wheeled car in the 1970s and the fraud case that exposed her past that included her life as Jerry Dean Michael and being involved in a counterfeiting operation.
On this day in 2020
- EVENTS
- United Kingdom formally withdraws from the European Union (Brexit).
- DEATHS
- Johnny Bumphus, American boxer (WBA super lightweight title 1984), who died at 59.
- César Zabala, Paraguayan soccer defender (49 caps; Cerro Porteño), who died of bladder cancer at 58.
- ALBUMS
- Funeral was released by Lil Wayne.
The latest full-length studio release for the rapper features guest appearances from 2 Chainz, Big Sean, Jay Rock, Adam Levine, Lil Baby, Lil Twist, O.T. Genasis, Takeoff, The-Dream, and XXXTentacion. - Be Up a Hello was released by Squarepusher.
The first new solo full-length studio release in five years for the British electronic artist features vintage analogue equipment. - ACCA was released by Ala.Ni.
The second full-length release for the Paris-based British singer features guest appearances from Iggy Pop and Lakeith Stanfield. - I Was Born Swimming was released by Squirrel Flower.
The debut full-length release for the Boston singer-songwriter Ella Williams was recorded in New York City with producer Gabe Wax. - Have We Met was released by Destroyer.
The 12th full-length release for the Canadian indie rock band led by Dan Bejar was produced and mixed by John Collins. - High Road was released by Kesha.
The fourth full-length studio release for the pop singer features guest appearances from Big Freedia, Sturgill Simpson, Brian Wilson, and Wrabel. - Likewise was released by Frances Quinlan.
The debut full-length solo release for the Hop Along singer was recorded with her Hop Along bandmate, Joe Reinhart. - Mystic Familiar was released by Dan Deacon.
The fifth full-length solo release for the experimental electronic artist is his first in nearly five years. - When We Stay Alive was released by Poliça.
The fourth full-length release for the Minneapolis band features songs written while frontwoman Channy Leaneagh was recovering from a back injury. - The Unraveling was released by Drive-By Truckers.
The 12th full-length studio release for the alt-country/southern rock band was recorded in Memphis with Matt Ross-Spang and producer David Barbe. - Silver Tongue was released by Torres.
The fourth full-length release for the Nashville-based singer-songwriter was recorded in Brooklyn and is her first on the Merge label. - Sorry for the Late Reply was released by Sløtface.
The second full-length release for the Norwegian punk-pop band includes songs about climate change, immigration, and relationships. - Storm Damage was released by Ben Watt.
The fourth full-length solo release for the former Everything But The Girl member features a guest appearance from Alan Sparhawk of Low. - MOVIES
- The Assistant - Not Rated is released.
The Assistant follows one day in the life of Jane (Julia Garner), a recent college graduate and aspiring film producer, who has recently landed her dream job as a junior assistant to a powerful entertainment mogul. Her day is much like any other assistant’s – making coffee, changing the paper in the copy machine, ordering lunch, arranging travel, taking phone messages, onboarding a new hire. But as Jane follows her daily routine, she, and we, grow increasingly aware of the abuse that insidiously colors every aspect of her work day, an accumulation of degradations against which Jane decides to take a stand, only to discover the true depth of the system into which she has entered - The Rhythm Section - R is released.
Stephanie Patrick (Blake Lively) is an ordinary woman on a path of self-destruction after her family is tragically killed in a plane crash. When Stephanie discovers that the crash was not an accident, she enters a dark, complex world to seek revenge on those responsible and find her own redemption. - The Traitor - Not Rated is released.
In the early 1980’s, an all out war rages between Sicilian mafia bosses over the heroin trade. Tommaso Buscetta, a made man, flees to hide out in Brazil. Back home, scores are being settled and Buscetta watches from afar as his sons and brother are killed in Palermo, knowing he may be next. Arrested and extradited to Italy by the Brazilian police, Buscetta makes a decision that will change everything for the Mafia: He decides to meet with Judge Giovanni Falcone and betray the eternal vow he made to the Cosa Nostra. - Miss Americana - TV-MA is released.
A look at iconic pop artist Taylor Swift during a transformational time in her life as she embraces her role as a singer/songwriter and harnesses the full power of her voice. - José - Not Rated is released.
José (Enrique Salanic) lives with his mother (Ana Cecilia Mota) in Guatemala City, where they survive on her selling sandwiches at bus stops and with him working at a local restaurant. It is a poor and sometimes dangerous country where, dominated by conservative Catholic and Evangelical Christian religion, living one’s life as an openly gay man is hard for José to imagine. His mother has never had a husband, and as her youngest and favorite child, though at the edge of manhood at 19-years old, she is determined to hold on to him. Reserved and private, José fills his free moments playing with his phone and random sex with other men arranged on street corners and dating apps. When he meets attractive and gentle Luis (Manolo Herrera), a migrant from the rural Caribbean coast, they pursue an unexpected relationship with more emotion than José has ever felt. He is thrust into new passion and pain, and self-reflection, that push him to rethink his life even as he is reluctant to take a leap of faith. - Incitement - Not Rated is released.
In September 1993, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin announces the Oslo Accords, which aim to achieve a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians after decades of violence. Yigal Amir, a law student and a devoted Orthodox Jew, cannot believe that his country's leader will cede territory that he and many others believe is rightfully - by the word of God - theirs. As the prospect of a peaceful compromise approaches, Amir turns from a hot-headed political activist to a dangerous extremist. Consumed by anger and delusions of grandeur, he recruits fighters and steals weapons to form an underground militia intent on killing Palestinians. After his longtime girlfriend leaves him, Amir becomes even more isolated, disillusioned, and bitter. He soon learns of an ancient Jewish law, the Law of the Pursuer, that he believes gives him the right to murder Yitzhak Rabin. Convinced he must stop the signing of the peace treaty in order to fulfil his destiny and bring salvation to his people, Amir's warped mind sees only one way forward. - Gretel & Hansel - PG-13 is released.
A long time ago in a distant fairytale countryside, a young girl (Sophia Lillis) leads her little brother (Sammy Leakey) into a dark wood in desperate search of food and work, only to stumble upon a nexus of terrifying evil. - Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words - PG-13 is released.
Although Clarence Thomas remains a controversial figure, loved by some, reviled by others, few know much more than a few headlines and the recollections of his contentious confirmation battle with Anita Hill. Yet, the personal odyssey of Clarence Thomas is a classic American story and should be better known and understood. His life began in extreme poverty in the segregated South, and moved to the height of the legal profession, as one of the most influential justices on the Supreme Court. - TV SERIES
- BoJack Horseman: Season 6.5 is released.
The second half of the final season of the animated comedy.
On this day in 2019
- EVENTS
- Catholic leaders in Texas name 286 priests and others accused of sexually abusing children, dating back to 1940.
- Blockbuster NBA trade: NY Knicks send Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee & Trey Burke to Dallas Mavericks for Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews & 2 future 1st-round picks.
- At least 20 newborns and children have died in last two months of the cold, trying to get to the Al-Ho Syrian refugee camp according to WHO.
- Colonization of the America's in the late 1500s killed so many people it cooled the planet and led to a "Little Ice Age", according to a scientific report published in "Quaternary Science Reviews".
- Harold Bradley the American country and pop guitarist died age 93. As a session musician into the 1970s, he performed on hundreds of albums by country stars such as Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley and Slim Whitman. Bradley, who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006, is believed to be one of the most recorded instrumentalist in history..
- Leaked Indian government reports says unemployment rate at 6.1% highest since 1972-73, up from 2.2% in 2011-12.
- New government in Lebanon finally formed by Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri nine months after elections.
- Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah crowned King of Malaysia to serve a five-year term.
- US border agency seizes its biggest ever fentanyl bust, nearly 254 pounds hidden in Tractor-trailer in Nogales, Arizona.
- BIRTHS
- Lya Fadi El Hashem, Family Member, born in Lebanon.
On this day in 2018
- EVENTS
- Houston guard James Harden becomes first player in NBA history to log a 60-point triple-double with 60 points,10 rebounds,11 assists,4 steals and a block in Rockets'114-107 win over Orlando Magic.
- trump administration formally suspends the Clean Water Act.
- DEATHS
- Anne Gillis [Alma Conner], American actress (Faline-Bambi, Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Little Men), who died at 90.
- MOVIES
- In the Intense Now - Not Rated is released.
Made following the discovery of amateur footage shot in China in 1966 during the first and most radical stage of the Cultural Revolution, In the Intense Now speaks to the fleeting nature of moments of great intensity. Scenes of China are set alongside archival images of the events of 1968 in France, Czechoslovakia, and, to a lesser extent, Brazil. In keeping with the tradition of the film-essay, they serve to investigate how the people who took part in those events continued onward after passions had cooled. The footage, all of it archival, not only reveals the state of mind of those filmed—joy, enchantment, fear, disappointment, dismay—but also sheds light on the relationship between a document and its political context. What can one say of Paris, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, or Beijing by looking at the images of the period? Why did each of these cities produce a specific sort of record? [Icarus FIlms]
On this day in 2017
- EVENTS
- English singer, bassist, and songwriter John Wetton died in his sleep at his home in Bournemouth, Dorset, UK from colon cancer. He rose to fame with bands Mogul Thrash, Family, King Crimson, Roxy Music, Uriah Heep, and Wishbone Ash. After his period with King Crimson, Wetton formed UK, and later he was the frontman and principal songwriter of the supergroup Asia. Their biggest hit 'Heat of the Moment', reached No. 4 in the US in 1982..
- US President Donald Trump announces he is nominating 49 year old Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
- US President Donald Trump fires Attorney General Sally Yates after she instructs Justice Department officials not to defend Trump's travel ban.
- Philip Glass'Symphony No. 11, premieres with the Bruckner Orchester Linz conducted by Dennis Russell Davies, at Carnegie Hall in NYC.
- Romanian government passes emergency decree to release prisoners and decriminalise corruption charges, triggering huge protests in Bucharest.
- BIRTHS
- Landon Nguyen, YouTube Star, born in Florida.
- DEATHS
- Leo Cleary, Race Car Driver.
- John Wetton, British rock vocalist and bassist (Asia, King Crimson), who died of cancer at 67.
- Deke [Roger] Leonard, Welsh rock musician (Man), who died at 72.
- Rob Stewart, Director.
On this day in 2016
- EVENTS
- 61st NHL All Star Games, Bridgestone Centre, Nashville, TN: Pacific Division All Stars win four-team 3-on-3 tournament; MVP: John Scott, San Jose, LW.
- David Bowie left an estate valued at about $100m (£70m), according to his will which was filed in New York. Half would go to his widow, Iman, along with the home they shared in New York. The rest was shared between his son and daughter. Bowie's personal assistant, Corinne Schwab, was left $2m and another $1m went to a former nanny, Marion Skene..
- Australian Open Men's Tennis: Novak Ðokovic retains Championship for his record-equaling 6th Australian title; beats Andy Murray 6-1,7-5,7-6.
- NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: Team Irvin beats Team Rice,49-27; MVPs: Russell Wilson, Seattle, QB; Michael Bennett, Seattle, DE.
- " World's best chef" French-Swiss Benoît Violier found dead after apparent suicide weeks after being named world's best by La Liste.
- DEATHS
- Terry Wogan, British broadcaster (Eurovision Song Contest, Blankety Blank), who died of cancer at 77.
- Terry Wogan, Radio Host.
- TV SERIES
- Grease: Live is released.
The live adaptation of the musical finds Sandy (Julianne Hough) transferring to the high school of Danny's (Aaron Tveit) where she meets the Pink Ladies: Rizzo (Vanessa Hudgens), Frenchy (Carly Rae Jepsen), Marty (Keke Palmer). and Jan (Kether Donohue) as well as the T-Birds: Kenickie (Carlos PenaVega) and Putzie (David Del Rio).
On this day in 2015
- EVENTS
- Australia defeats South Korea in football to win the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
- Australian Open Women's Tennis: Serena Williams wins 19th career Grand Slam singles title; beats arch rival Maria Sharapova of Russia 6-3,7-6.
- Atlanta Hawks set a new NBA monthly win record as they move to 17-0 for January, with a 91-85 win against the Philadelphia 76ers.
- R&B rock and roll singer and songwriter Don Covay passed away at the age of 78. His most successful recordings include 'Mercy, Mercy' (1964), 'See-Saw' (1965), and 'It's Better to Have (and Don't Need)' (1974). He also wrote 'Pony Time', a US No.1 hit for Chubby Checker, and 'Chain of Fools', a Grammy-winning song for Aretha Franklin..
- Pr-Football Hall of Fame inductees: Junior Seau, Jerome Bettis, Charles Haley, Will Shields, Tim Brown, and Mick Tingelhoff.
- Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees: Junior Seau, Jerome Bettis, Charles Haley, Will Shields, Tim Brown, Mick Tingelhoff.
- Sergio Mattarella is elected President of Italy.
- 17 year old Lydia Ko of New Zealand becomes the youngest golfer in men's or women's golf history to be ranked No. 1 in the world.
- DEATHS
- Udo Lattek, German football striker (VfL Osnabrück) and coach (Bayern Munich, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona), who died from Parkinson's disease and dementia at 80.
- Udo Lattek, Soccer Coach.
- Richard von Weizsacker, German politician and 1st president of reunited Germany (1990-94), who died at 94.
- Jack Hahn, Race Car Driver.
- Lizabeth Scott [Emma Matzo], American actress (Desert Fury, Dark City), who died of heart failure at 92.
- Don Covay [Donald Randolph], American R & B musician and songwriter (Chain of Fools), who died at 78.
On this day in 2014
- EVENTS
- American businesswoman, composer and songwriter Anna Gordy Gaye died three days after her 92nd birthday. An elder sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy, she became a record executive in the mid-to-late 1950s distributing records released on Checker and Gone Records before forming the Anna label. Gordy later became known as a songwriter for several hits including the Originals' ‘Baby, I'm for Real’, and two songs on Marvin Gaye's What's Going On album. The first wife of Gaye, their turbulent marriage later served as inspiration for Gaye's album, Here, My Dear..
- DEATHS
- Anna Gordy Gaye, Business Executive.
- Alexander Ivashkin, Russian cellist, conductor, and sitar player, who died at 65.
- Frank Weiss, Race Car Driver.
- Christopher Jones, American actor, who died from cancer at 72.
- Paul Humphrey, American jazz, R& B, and rock session and touring drummer, who died at 78.
- Miklos Jancso, Director.
- Miklós Jancsó, Hungarian director (The Red and the White), who died at 92.
- MOVIES
- 12 O'Clock Boys - Not Rated is released.
Pug, a young boy growing up on a combative West Baltimore block, finds solace in a group of illegal dirt bike riders known as the 12 O'Clock Boys. - Love Is in the Air - Not Rated is released.
Antoine is a lawyer living in New York. On his way back to France for the final round of a job interview, he finds himself sitting next to his ex-girlfriend Julie. Over the seven-hour flight, they rehash the highs and lows of their failed relationship. - At Middleton - R is released.
A man and a woman fall in love while taking their kids on a college admissions tour. - Best Night Ever - R is released.
Bride-to-be Claire, her sister Leslie, fun-loving Zoe, and quirky new friend Janet set off to Las Vegas for a one-night bachelorette party that turns out to be more than they bargained for. A series of unexpected adventures including, getting kicked out of a strip club, being mugged and getting pummeled by the Las Vegas’ reigning gelatin-wrestling champion, Veronica, rip them from the glitz and glamour of the Las Vegas strip and places them smack dab in Vegas’ seedy underbelly. Determined to keep their bachelorette party dreams alive, the girls band together and embark on the wildest night in bachelorette party history. Fueled by sex and booze, this raunchy, riotously hilarious, out-of-control, blow-out is, for better or worse, all caught on tape. - Brightest Star - Not Rated is released.
After the heartbreaking end of his first love, a recent college graduate (Chris Lowell) sets out to win back the girl of his dreams (Rose McIver) only to discover a greater journey awaits him. - That Awkward Moment - R is released.
Three best friends find themselves at that confusing moment in every dating relationship when you have to decide "So...where is this going?"
On this day in 2013
- EVENTS
- 300 people are injured in a train collision in Pretoria, South Africa.
- 36 people are killed and 126 are injured in an explosion at Torre Ejecutiva Pemex, Mexico.
- DEATHS
- Timir Pinegin, Russian sailor (Olympic gold 1960), who died at 85.
- MOVIES
- Sound City - Not Rated is released.
Dave Grohl directs this documentary about the legendary, but now defunct, analog recording studio in Van Nuys, California. - TV SERIES
- Do No Harm: Season 1 is released.
Dr. Jason Cole (Steven Pasquale) suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder and between the hours of 8:25 p.m. and 8:25 a.m. he becomes another man, the devious Ian Price.