Weekend Wrap-Up: Home Movies and Horse Races

  • Share
  • Read Later
Ray Kachatorian / Getty

Welcome back, NewsFeeders. We hope you (or that special mom in your life) had a happy Mother’s Day. Ride the good vibes all the way through this week. But first, here’s what you missed while you were eating (or perhaps cooking) breakfast in bed.

Watching Osama Watch Himself

On Saturday the Department of Defense released a taste of the intelligence recovered from Abbottabad: five videos purported to be the home movies of Osama bin Laden. Four of them you’ve seen before: a trim and polished version of world’s most wanted terrorist is practicing his prepared speeches for delivery on television. But the fifth gave us a glimpse of Osama’s life of seclusion – he’s shown watching himself on TV in his compound, shabbily dressed and looking frail and weary. NewsFeed has the tapes in their entirety.

Hurry Up and Wait

It’s becoming a yearly tradition for the Mississippi River valley. Towns and cities – including Memphis, whose population totals over 1 million, are bracing for the river’s epic crest at 48 feet. More than a thousand people in low-lying areas have been told to evacuate as the river overlooks in the city have attracted tourists from miles away flocking to its ever-rising banks. This week could be the breaking point for the city, which isn’t expected to be out of flood stage level until June. (via Memphis Commercial Appeal)

Thriller at the Twin Spires

A come-from-behind win from Animal Kingdom stunned the crowd and led to some major payouts for those who placed their bets on the 20-to-1 long shot at Saturday’s 137th Kentucky Derby. Animal Kingdom held toward the back of the pack for the first mile, only catching up to and overtaking pacesetter Shackleford in the final turn. Shackleford finished fourth, behind Animal Kingdom, Nehro, and Mucho Macho Man. What’s more, heavy favorite Dialed In couldn’t dial up any sort of solid run, finishing in eighth place. (via ESPN)

In Case You Missed It On NewsFeed

Wild Ride: A tale of an epic road trip featuring three of Hollywood’s biggest names is poised to emerge in June’s Vanity Fair. Legend (and an account from a friend) has it that on September 11th, Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson, and Marlon Brando fled New York City in a rental car and drove to Ohio. What an entertaining ride it must have been – see the details on NewsFeed.

Monday Must-Read

Walking the Border via Esquire
The U.S.-Mexico border seems like the closest thing you can get to the Wild Wild West – that unruly place where anything goes. While America’s attempts to keep out Mexican border crossers have been well-documented in the past years, is it really all that difficult to get across? What is the atmosphere – and attitude – like along the border? This intriguing piece traces the dividing line from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. On foot. We wonder how sunburned the author got (and yes, he survived!)

Viral Video

Creative? Yes. Highly unnecessary? Also yes. This advertisement for a New York City dentist scores points both for excellent production values and ridiculous ideas. Seriously, a parody of Rihanna’s top 40 song seems like a TON of work for a simple ad – but hey, if it brings clients through the door, cha-ching.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=A3ePSpxBFvM&w=450]