Variety, among other outlets, is reporting that Sumner Redstone is dead at 97. Sumner was my boss on some level, as I was at MTV when it was acquired by Viacom. I never met the man personally, but have always been struck by an anecdote about him from someone who did. As mentioned in the obituary, he suffered serious burns in a hotel fire. The way the story was told to me, shaking with him was surprising by the hard-edged scars on his hands. His hands were scorched by the fire as he hung from a window ledge. His intense will to live that allowed him to hang on as his hands burned and his enormous success in life seemed to go hand-in-hand, so to speak. I always found this tale to be quite inspirational, as well as a bit intimidating.

Determined Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Stories

• Forest Fires Are Setting Chernobyl’s Radiation Free. Thanks A51Abductee.
• A Broken Cable Has Wrecked One of Earth's Largest Radio Telescopes. Looks like a Portal level.
• 34-state salmonella outbreak causes nationwide onion recall. Thanks RedEye9.

Science

• Citrus Flavoring Is Weaponized Against Insect-Borne Diseases. Thanks j.c.f.
• Clever chemistry turns ordinary bricks into electricity storage devices. Thanks Max.

Image

• Best Gaming Memes on Instagram.
• P.F.Memes on Instagram.
• Beefy on Instagram.

Media

• Honest Trailers - Avatar: The Last Airbender. Thanks Max.
• Cincinnati police officers save baby goose from balloon.

Follow-ups

• Do neck gaiters spread coronavirus more easily? Not exactly.
• Trump says U.S. has reached deal with Moderna for 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccine.
• Scientists uneasy as Russia approves 1st coronavirus vaccine.