Let's Do The News! (April 23, 2024)

                            

Your daily round-up of today's news...

- The Presidential Communications Office refuted the circulated video that PH President Bongbong Marcos already ordered the AFP to fight a foreign country, saying deepfake was used on the said video.

- The Philippine Navy is monitoring the surge of Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea.

- Donald Trump is accused of "pure election" fraud in his second hush money trial. Defense lawyers told jurors in New York there was no crime and the former US president Donald Trump is "cloaked in innocence". 

- The Ecuadorean police arrest fugitive gang leader Fabricio Colón Pico.

- The facelifted Porsche Cayenne Mk3 received a GTS variant with an improved 4.0L V8 engine producing 500PS of power.

2025 Porsche Cayenne GTS

- Kia teases its upcoming Tasman pickup truck.

- Lamborghini is teasing an improved Urus coming this April 24th.

- The second-generation Opel/Vauxhall Grandland was unveiled.

2025 Vauxhall Grandland

- Kim Yun Jee announces her pregnancy. Kim Yun Jee’s agency Sublime shared, “Kim Yun Jee is pregnant after three years of marriage. She is due to give birth in July.”

- Apink's Yoon Bomi, Black Eyed Pilseung's Rado long-term relationship revealed

TTFN.

Let's Do The News! (April 22, 2024)

                           

Your daily round-up of today's news...

- The Philippine and US militaries have commenced this year's Balikatan exercises.

- 19 cars in the NAIA Terminal 3 parking lot caught fire.

- Iloilo is placed in a "state of calamity" due to the water crisis caused by El Niño.

- Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu vows to reject any US sanctions on the Israeli military. Netanyahu called the possible sanctions the height of absurdity. Last weekend, the US House of Representatives passed the bill calling for more military aid funding to Israel.

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the new US package of military aid could help Ukraine turn the tide in the war against Russia.

- The Mercedes-AMG GT63S E Performance was unveiled. The 4.0L V8 Twin Turbo engine has been given a PHEV setup, boosting the power to 816PS and 1420 of torque.

2025 Mercedes-AMG GT63S E Performance

- The Aston Martin DBX 707 received a DB12-inspired interior for the 2025 model year. The base DBX was dropped, leaving only the DBX 707 as the sole variant.

2025 Aston Martin DBX 707

- Embracer Group reveals plans to split into three companies with the Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends company owning Dark Horse Comics and PLAION Pictures.

- Himitsu no AiPri TV anime casts Yurika Kubo as Tsumugi Suzukaze.

- Simon Dominic has left AOMG after 10 years.

- K-pop girl group Cherry Bullet announced their disbandment.

TTFN.

2024 NASCAR Cup Series - GEICO 500

Talladega Superspeedway is the next stop for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series with the GEICO 500. From start to finish, the insanity and chaos in store during the race are textbook NASCAR stuff.

As the green flag waved, the action in 'Dega is on. Stage 1 saw BJ McLeod get into the wall from the lead and forced to pit by himself on Lap 40, followed by Denny Hamlin spinning on Lap 44, entering the pits with the other Toyota drivers. As Austin Cindric won Stage 1, Stage 2 saw some bold moves from Shane Van Gisbergen's oval race debut, and with Joey Logano winning Stage 2, the final stage saw chaos with Christopher Bell spinning at the stack-up on Lap 134, followed by Erik Jones, Denny Hamlin, and Bubba Wallace got caught in a Lap 157 incident.

Screengrab from NASCAR

As Michael McDowell's final lap incident caused Josh Berry and Corey La Joie caught in a climactic multi-car crash, Tyler Reddick wins the GEICO 500 of the NASCAR Cup Series! A win for 23XI Racing and the new Toyota stock car!

The next race is at Dover Motor Speedway for the Würth 400 this April 28th.

NTT IndyCar Series 2024 - Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

Long Beach shifted into another race weekend frenzy with IndyCar and IMSA. With IMSA's Long Beach campaign done, it's now the turn of IndyCar to make some noise.

As the green flag waved, the IndyCar action in Long Beach was in full swing. However, in Lap 4, Alexander Rossi went to the pits too early due to a left rear issue, probably getting hit by Pato O'Ward. As O'Ward got a drive-through penalty in Lap 10, Lap 15 saw Christian Rasmussen crash, triggering a caution.

As the race restarts in Lap 20, Josef Newgarden's in the lead while Marcus Ericsson and Colton Herta are catching up. Lap 51 saw some pitstop drama for Graham Rahal due to refueling issues, costing his race. With 13 laps to go, as Scott Dixon leads, Newgarden and Herta are hounding on Dixon. With 8 laps to go, Colton Herta made contact with Josef Newgarden from behind.

Screengrab from IndyCar

The intense street racing action in Long Beach ends with Scott Dixon claiming his 57th career win in IndyCar, beating the likes of Colton Herta and Alex Palou.

After Long Beach, Newgarden leads with 87 points, 12 points ahead of Dixon, while Herta is in 3rd with 72 points.

The next race is the Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park this April 28th.

FIA WEC S12 - 6 Hours of Imola

The 12th season of the FIA World Endurance Championship continues with the 6 Hours of Imola as drivers and machines from Hypercar and LMGT3 classes are locked in a hellish 6-hour clash in Italy's most notorious but legendary racetrack.

Screengrab from WEC

It's redemption time for Toyota Gazoo Racing as the #7 TOYOTA GAZOO RACING GR010 of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Nyck De Vries wins the 6 Hours of Imola endurance race, beating the two Porsche machines in it. The #31 TEAM WRT M4 GT3 of Darren Leung, Sean Gelael, and Augusto Farfus wins the LMGT3 class.

The next race is the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps this May 9th.

WRC 2024: Croatia Rally

The 2024 World Rally Championship continues with the Croatia Rally and what a rally event it is. The situations between rally stages and car conditions truly turn the tide of the battle.

Screengrab from WRC

As Sebastien Ogier's comeback became promising in the shakedown, Thierry Neuville fought through the lead and managed to dominate almost the entire weekend, even with heated clashes with Elfyn Evans, until in the climax, Neuville and Evans going out of bounds gave Ogier a chance to slip into the lead.

Sebastien Ogier won the Croatia Rally at a rate of 2:40.23.6, 9.7 seconds ahead of Evans while Neuville finished in 3rd.

The next event is the Vodafone Rally de Portugal this May 9-12.

2024 Repco Supercars Championship - ITM Taupō Super400

The 2024 Repco Supercars Championship knocked on Taupō's door for the first-ever ITM Taupō Super400 at the Taupō International Motorsport Park. A new Kiwi track roars to life with the sounds of American V8 muscle cars clashing like warriors.

Screengrab from Supercars

The first part saw Andre Heimgartner defeating the two Shell V-Power Mustang drivers Will Davison and Anton De Pasquale to win the first part while the second part saw a 1-2 finish for the Red Bull Ampol team with Will Brown the winner and Broc Feeney the second placer.

After Supercars' first-ever Taupō race weekend, Will Brown leads with 809 points while Feeney is 71 points behind Brown.

The next event is the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint this May 16-19.