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Time Magazine
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
The True Story Behind 'Trainwreck: Storm Area 51'
The last 2025 installment of Trainwreck, Netflix's series on disasters in recent history, is more about a trainwreck that was averted. Out July 29, Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 explores what happened when conspiracy theorists gathered at a highly-protected military base in rural Nevada, convinced that was where the government was doing top-secret U.F.O research. They were prompted by a Facebook post that was created as a joke. When Matty Roberts of Bakersfield, California, created the public Facebook event 'Storm Area 51' for Sep. 20, 2019, at 3 a.m., he didn't expect it to go viral. It racked up millions of RSVPs and was poised to be a trainwreck of sorts for the nearby town of Rachel, Nevada and its 56 residents. But only a few hundred people showed up in the end, and a parallel celebration in Las Vegas drew more than 10,000 attendees. Both events were considered a success in the end, in the sense that no one died, and attendees had fun. Here's how 'Storm Area 51' inspired countless memes and what actually went down at Area 51 on Sep. 20, 2019. What is Area 51? Area 51 is a classified testing facility for the U.S. Air Force, built in 1955. As Annie Jacobsen, author of Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base, told CNN, the base has worked on the development and testing of U-2 reconnaissance planes designed to spy on the Soviet Union, which civilians have often mistaken for The base's existence was largely kept secret during the Cold War, and President Barack Obama was the first U.S. President to publicly acknowledge its existence in 2013, as part of a joke in a speech at the Kennedy Center. How 'Storm Area 51' went viral Roberts was a 20-year-old mall employee living in Bakersfield, California, when he stumbled upon a Joe Rogan interview with someone who worked at Area 51. Roberts wondered why Area 51 was so guarded—could the government be hiding something? He had a Facebook account with 40 followers where he posted memes, satire, and other random thoughts, and during a bout of insomnia one night, he created a public Facebook event called 'Storm Area 51' for 3 a.m. in three months with the tagline 'They can't stop all of us.' 'It just seemed like a hilarious idea to me,' Roberts says in the doc. 'I didn't think it'd go anywhere.' When he woke up the next morning, thousands had already RSVP-ed to the event. Within a month, over a million people RSVP-ed as attending, and the people were making alien memes for the event. Roberts had a blast doing television interviews, saying he created it as a joke while playing video games. 'I felt like I was standing on the doorstep of fame, and all you really had to do was ring the doorbell,' Roberts says in the doc. Roberts enlisted the help of a promoter known as Disco Donnie to help turn the Facebook event into a proper festival in Rachel, the closest town to Area 51. It was dubbed 'Alienstock'—a play on the famous 1969 Woodstock music festival. But it was a 'mission impossible' type of situation; the area around Area 51 was all desert, and everything would have to be shipped in. The logistics became too overwhelming for Roberts. As he put it, 'I can't have my name associated with something that could be a Fyre Fest 2.0.' He and Disco Donnie shifted to planning an 'Area 51 celebration' in Las Vegas and left any logistics in the Rachel area up to local business owners who were ticked off and felt abandoned. But many people did show up in the Rachel, Nevada, area on Sep. 20, 2019. The scene at Area 51 In the walk-up to the event, YouTubers had been going to Area 51 to stalk the bus that took employees into the base, streaming the scene for their channels. The military spent an estimated $11 million safeguarding Area 51 as part of the largest defense in the base's history. Authorities were expecting people to start running towards the base at 3 a.m. in the morning. People did run towards the gate, but they ended up stopping before it and taking photos. In the end, a few hundred people—compared to the 3.5 million expected—flocked to the Rachel area as an excuse to dance and dress up as sexy aliens. Social media influencers livestreamed the action, and more tuned into those livestreams than attended the event. The running joke was that there were more porta-potties than people. A local sheriff did pull over a guy en route to the event with multiple weapons in his car and seized the weapons. However, overall, the crowd at Area 51 was peaceful—boisterous, but not violent. Footage of the event in real time shows a social media influencer known as Unicole Unicron leading a prayer for aliens. In the doc, she says she considered the event a success, explaining, 'I felt like the aliens were dancing with us.' Roberts says in the doc that the scene near Area 51 'looked kinda cool' and what he originally had in mind for the event. He went back to working at a mall and looks back on his 15 minutes of fame as 'the most surreal and exciting moment of my life.'
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
US, Qatar to finalize plan to 'donate' a $400M Boeing 747 to DOD
July 27 (UPI) -- The United States government and Qatar will finalize a deal next week for Qatar to give the U.S. Air Force a jet to become Air Force One. Qatar will send the Boeing 747-8 aircraft as an unconditional "donation" to the Department of Defense, which will then be responsible for its maintenance, the Washington Post reported. The agreement, dated July 7, was signed by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs Soud bin Abulrahaman Al-Thani. Once the deal is finished, the Air Force can begin renovating the plane to become Air Force One. The process is projected to take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The jet itself is valued at $400 million and will go to President Donald Trump's presidential library after his term is over. "They knew about it because they buy Boeings, they buy a lot of Boeings, and they knew about it, and they said, we would like to do something," Trump said. "And if we can get a 747 as a contribution to our Defense Department to use during a couple of years while they're building the other ones, I think that was a very nice gesture. Now I could be a stupid person and say, 'Oh no, we don't want a free plane.'" The cost of the renovation is classified, but the New York Times has reported that the budget may be tucked into parts of the Department of Defense's budget. The Times cites a "mysterious" $934 million transfer from the over-budget modernization of America's aging, ground-based nuclear missiles. Article I of the U.S. Constitution prevents the president from accepting a gift or emolument from a "King, Prince, or foreign State," without congressional consent. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-New York, said in May that he sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office pushing for an investigation into the Trump administration accepting a plane as a gift. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
American Press
2 days ago
- American Press
Traveling tribute to Vietnam veterans coming to Allen Parish
A traveling tribute to Vietnam veterans is coming to Allen Parish just before Veterans Day. The American Veterans Traveling Tribute, a powerful replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., will be on display from Nov. 3-7 next to the Inn at Coushatta on U.S. 165 in Kinder. The 8-foot-high, 360-foot-long replica wall serves as a moving tribute to those who served in the Vietnam War, offering visitors a chance to honor the fallen and reflect on their sacrifices. The wall features over 58,000 names of those who died or are missing in action. Six Allen Parish veterans are among the names listed on the wall. 'The goal is to educate our children about the Vietnam War and remember those who didn't return home,' Allen Parish Tourist Director Adagria Haddock said. The memorial also aims to support veterans and their families, especially those unable to visit the D.C. memorial. 'I look forward to being able to educate people, honor our veterans and have people see that freedom is not free,' she said. 'These people gave their lives for us to be able to do what we do in America.' This marks the third time a replica of the wall has visited Allen Parish. Preparations for the wall's visit have been ongoing since February, and the community is invited to participate through various sponsorship and volunteer opportunities. Volunteers are especially needed to guide and escort visitors, including school groups, who are encouraged to visit the wall as an educational experience. Schoolchildren will have the opportunity to select a Louisiana soldier's name from the wall online, print their picture and information, and then write a card to be placed with a silk rose below the soldier's name on the wall. They can also create rubbings of the names. In addition to the main memorial wall, the display will include a 'Cost of Freedom Wall,' a 72-panel exhibit listing all wars, including the 9/11 attack, and the names of fallen soldiers. A Vietnam War museum featuring information and memorabilia will also be on display. Veterans resource service personnel will also be available to assist veterans with medical help, benefits, disability claims, education opportunities, mental health, VA eligibility, and other healthcare needs. The tribute wall will be set up on Saturday, Nov. 1, and will be open to the public 24 hours a day from 10 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 3, through Friday, Nov. 7. On Sunday, Nov. 2, a parade featuring motorcycles and antique cars will travel north along U.S. 165 to the site, followed by a brief ceremony. Former Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs secretary Joey Strickland, (retired U.S. Air Force colonel) will be the keynote speaker during an opening ceremony at 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 3. A candlelight vigil honoring Louisiana soldiers whose names are on the wall will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Retired Colonel Charlton Meginley, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs, will be guest speaker. Wednesday, Nov. 5 will be Agent Orange Awareness Day. Agent orange medals will be awarded to those veterans affected by Agent Order. 'If a veteran in Vietnam was affected by Agent Orange, they need to call us and fill out an application with their name, address, and the way they were affected,' Haddock said. Thursday, Nov. 6 will be Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Day and Florence Nightingale Day, honoring the eight nurses' whose names appear on the wall. Katrina Lloyd, the state surgeon for the Louisiana National Guard, will be the guest speaker. A closing ceremony titled 'Let Freedom Ring' will conclude the wall's visit at 3 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 7. The visit is sponsored by the Louisiana Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 215 and the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana and Allen Parish Tourism Commission. All events are free and open to the public. Schools interested in planning visits can contact Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 215 President Mike Breaux at 337-523-1593. For those wishing to volunteer or apply for an Agent Orange medal, contact Haddock at 337-401-1315 or the Allen Parish Tourism Commission at 337-639-4868.
5 days ago
- General
S. Korean Plane Apparently Enters Japan's ADIZ without Notice
News from Japan World Jul 25, 2025 19:22 (JST) Seoul, July 25 (Jiji Press)--The South Korean air force said Friday that a transport aircraft bound for Guam urgently landed at the U.S. Air Force's Kadena base in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, on July 13 due to running out of fuel. The air force transport aircraft is believed to have entered Japan's air defense identification zone without prior notice, causing Japanese Air Self-Defense Force aircraft to scramble. South Korea's defense ministry has launched an audit of its air force on the matter. On July 13, the transporter was heading to Guam for multinational joint air training. It took a detour due to abnormal weather, however, consumed more fuel than expected, declared an emergency, and landed and refueled at the Kadena base, before joining the training. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a news conference Friday that it was "regrettable" that the developments led to the SDF's scrambling. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
5 days ago
- General
US Osprey makes emergency landing in Japan, officials say
TOKYO - -A U.S. CV-22 Osprey made what Japanese officials called an emergency landing Thursday at Hanamaki Airport in northeastern Japan, about 300 miles north of Tokyo. Airport officials say the tilt-rotor aircraft touched down safely after reporting a mechanical issue mid-flight. The U.S. Air Force said the craft made a "precautionary landing" during a flight from Misawa Air Base to its home base, Yokota Air Base. No injuries were reported. Operations for commercial flights continued as normal. Video from Japanese broadcaster NHK shows the aircraft taxiing to the apron where uniformed personnel could be seen on top of the aircraft, near the center, inspecting the aircraft. Japan's Defense Ministry says it has dispatched staff to the site and is in contact with U.S. forces. The landing came six days after another U.S. Osprey set down in Akita Prefecture for a safety inspection, according to Japanese officials. That aircraft remained on the ground for over seven hours. A U.S. military public affairs officer described the Thursday incident as a "precautionary landing." The V-22 Osprey has been involved in several incidents in recent years, including a crash off Yakushima, in southern Japan, in 2023 that killed eight and grounded the fleet for months. Cullen Drenkhahn, a 1st lieutenant serving as a public affairs advisor for the 353d Special Operations Wing Kadena AB, told ABC News, "I can confirm a U.S. CV-22 Osprey conducted a precautionary landing today at Iwate Hanamaki Airport at 9:45 a.m." "The landing was executed safely and in accordance with policies. An assessment is ongoing to gather additional information. No injuries or damages occurred. There were no interruptions to airport operations," Drenkhahn said. "The aircraft is assigned to the 353rd Special Operations Wing and was flying from Misawa Air Base to its home base, Yokota Air Base. He added, "No further information at this time. the safety of our pilots and aircrew, as well as the men and women of Japan is our foremost priority."
