Nick Pierce

[Pissed Off American @solar_ric]

They should make her VP of marketing A Florida woman was arrested after allegedly impersonating a Costco employee and turning an ordinary shopping trip into what witnesses described as a full-blown “warehouse happy hour.”

According to authorities, 32-year-old Brianna Keller walked into a Costco location in Tampa dressed convincingly enough to fool both shoppers and employees. Wearing black pants, a red polo shirt, and a fake name badge that read “Crystal — Beverage Team,” Keller reportedly stationed herself near the frozen food section and began offering customers tiny cups of tequila disguised as free product samples.

Investigators say the scene escalated quickly.

Using miniature ketchup cups typically reserved for condiments, Keller allegedly poured tequila shots for shoppers while pairing them with frozen appetizers and snack foods. Witnesses claimed she confidently explained that Costco was “testing a new customer experience initiative” and referred to the alcohol as part of a “weekend tasting event.”

Several shoppers reportedly believed the setup was legitimate.

“She was so confident that nobody questioned it,” one customer told local reporters. “She kept talking about flavor profiles like she actually worked there.”

Authorities say Keller became increasingly theatrical as the crowd grew larger. Witnesses described her leading chants of “Weekend mode activated!” while customers laughed, cheered, and continued lining up for more samples. At one point, shoppers were allegedly dancing near the mattress displays while holding condiment cups filled with liquor.

Employees reportedly became suspicious after noticing unusually large crowds gathering around the snack aisle and customers behaving noticeably louder than normal. Managers approached Keller after hearing her pitch what she called “Bottomless Sample Fridays” to confused supervisors.

The situation came to an end when store management contacted police.

Officers say Keller continued attempting to rally customers even as she was being escorted from the building, shouting, “WHO’S READY FOR ROUND TWO?” while several shoppers applauded the spectacle.

She was arrested on charges related to impersonation, disorderly conduct, and unauthorized distribution of alcohol.

No injuries were reported during the incident, though authorities confirmed the store temporarily shut down the sampling area while employees cleaned up the scene.

One shopper summed up the bizarre event by saying, “Honestly, for a minute I thought Costco was just evolving.”

[Polymarket Sports @PolymarketSport]

🚨JUST IN: Iran wants FIFA to prevent any “ceremonies or promotional activities” in support of the LGBTQ community

Seattle’s local World Cup host committee has designated the upcoming game between Iran and Egypt a “Pride Match”

[Nick Pierce @TerrapinNick]

@RealPlantBrah @eastcobbob @DrRansom1 Followed

[BuccoCapital Bloke @buccocapital]

Everyone always talking about “talent density” in Silicon Valley when we really should be talking about how 80% of pretzels in America come from a small region of Pennsylvania

[OSINTtechnical @Osinttechnical]

Footage of the mid air collision between a pair of Navy Super Hornets/Growlers during the Gunfighter Skies Air Show at Mountain Home Air Force Base moments ago.

[Nick Pierce @TerrapinNick]

@ToeTheRubber26 @dirtcheapbanks Took BOA 15 years to figure out they owned parking lot and past due property taxes from GFC before selling it. Believeable

[Derek Thompson @DKThomp]

New newsletter: MODERN FATHERHOOD WOULD BE UNRECOGNIZABLE TO A 1950'S DAD

Compared to their Boomer parents, childcare time among Millennial dads has more than doubled.

Compared to their Silent Generation grandparents, it’s nearly quadrupled.

You will be hard-pressed to find any part of day-to-day modern life that has changed more in the last half-century than the way today’s parents—and fathers, in particular—spend their time.

The new American dad is more present and more exhausted—but also, more satisfied with life. What's behind this half-century transformation? Today's piece combines history, economic analysis, and gorgeous charts galore from @AzizSunderji

[Maryland DNR @MarylandDNR]

That white-flowered tree taking over Maryland roadsides? It's now illegal to sell.

Every spring, it puts on a show. White blooms line the highways, pack the median strips, spill down the exit ramps. It looks like it belongs here. It absolutely does not.

The Bradford pear, also called callery pear, is one of the more consequential landscaping mistakes of the last half century. Weak wood that splits in storms. A lifespan measured in decades, not generations. Stinky flowers. And once it escapes a yard or a parking lot, it spreads aggressively into natural areas and crowds out the native plants that Maryland wildlife actually depends on.

Maryland expanded restrictions on its sale and possession earlier this year. If you already have one, you're not in violation, but when it goes down, consider replacing it with something that earns its place in the landscape:

🌸 Eastern redbud
🌼 Flowering dogwood
🍓 Serviceberry
🌿 Wild American plum

Learn how to identify and remove this tree at https://t.co/PZOccGrAuC

[Nick Pierce @TerrapinNick]

@rmnb @TheFourthPeriod

[Nick Pierce @TerrapinNick]

@sammisilber Idk who to believe

[Capital Weather @capitalweather]

* Watch this cold snap's most ridiculous scene *

"Witnessed this genius trying to ice sail on the Potomac today with a ladder and what appeared to be a door, " wrote CWG reader Bryan Henson, who sent us this video Saturday.

But -- hey -- give the guy credit. His ice sail appeared to work :)

[Weather Monitor @WeatherMonitors]

This evening, large blocks of ice suddenly began surging downstream along the Yesentai (Esentai) River in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

[Nick Pierce @TerrapinNick]

@the_transit_guy In NW and SW DC, building owners businesses are required to scrape gum and debris off the sidewalk

[Nick Pierce @TerrapinNick]

@DarwynsTheory One problem, Branson, MO is the live entertainment capital of the ��

[Nick Pierce @TerrapinNick]

@DannyJC1988 @MikeBartner Imagine if he lost weight, showed up to camp in shape, and worked on his cardio 🤯

[Pete Blackburn @PeteBlackburn]

Alex Ovechkin has 911 career goals and 9 goals in his last 11 games

[Nick Pierce @TerrapinNick]

@grok @Gabrielxbtd @chan_lee2005 @FalconryFinance @grok what is EBV?

[StarSnap 🌟 @StarSnap_1]

🚀 Microdispensing at the picoliter scale is redefining precision in science — enabling ultra-accurate droplet placement for biotech, diagnostics & electronics.

A raindrop 🌧️ ≈ 50 µL — that’s 50 million× larger than a picoliter!

🔗: https://t.co/xC9NnCU2Xi

[Ian Hartitz @Ihartitz]

Yeah sure Brian Callahan wasn't good at "winning football games" or "scoring points" but remember that without him we may have never gotten the generational Will Levis meme run in 2024