Daily News Highlights – December 22, 2015 Edition

If the May elections were held today, 33% of Filipinos would elect Vice-President Jejomar Binay as the country’s next president. The latest PulseAsia survey also said that Senator Grace Poe, who until now was the frontrunner in polls, is statistically tied with Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte at 2nd place. Duterte is at 23% while Poe is at 21%. Close behind them are Interior Government secretary Mar Roxas at 17%. Other presidential candidates did not surpass the 4% mark. Senator Chiz Escudero leads the vice-presidential race at 29% while Senator Ferdinand Marcos is at 2nd with 23%. Senator Alan Peter Cayetano is 3rd at 18% while Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robredo came in at 4th at 14%. The survey was conducted December 4-11.

Read more on the latest PulseAsia Survey.

Vice President Jejomar Binay will benefit the most if Senator Grace Poe is disqualified from the presidential race in 2016. If Poe does not run, Binay’s rating will go up 10 points to 33 percent, Roxas’ will go up 7 points to 29 percent, Duterte’s will increase by 7 points to 29 percent and Santiago’s will go up by 6 points to 9 percent. If the elections are held this December, Poe will have a narrow lead over the other candidates. Poe would lead with 28 percent of the votes, Vice President Jejomar Binay would come in second with 23 percent, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas third with 22 percent, Duterte 4th with 19 percent, and Santiago last with 3 percent. The latest Standard Poll, led by pollster Junie Laylo, was taken from December 4 to 12. 

Read more on the Laylo poll.

Miss Universe Australia Monica Radulovic gave her account of what happened on stage at the Miss Universe coronation. In an interview with an Australian TV station she said, “The rest of us, the 77 of the contestants were on the sidelines on the stage. We actually saw on the teleprompter, it said, ‘Philippines, please take your first walk as Miss Universe,’ after Colombia was crowned so we were looking at each other thinking… and then Steve Harvey made the walk down the runway and we could all see the worried look on his face.” She said she felt bad for the two girls – for Miss Colombia, who was “crying with joy and getting that taken away” and for Miss Philippines, who “didn’t have the congratulatory walk that Miss Universe normally gets.” She also said she felt for Harvey who made the wrong announcement which she called an “honest mistake.” Radulovic made it to the top 5.

Watch Miss Australia’s account of mix-up and read the backstage reactions of Miss Colombia and Philippines.

Colombia’s president Juan Manuel Santos said he was shocked when Miss Colombia won and then immediately lost the Miss Universe crown, and said as far as he was concerned Ariadna Gutierrez remained the winner. He said, “To me, our queen is and will remain Miss Universe. They put the crown on her head. The photos are there to prove it. To me, as a Colombian, she is still Miss Universe.” Santos was among the millions of people watching the pageant on TV Sunday when the host, American comedian Steve Harvey, misread his cue card and announced that Miss Colombia had won the title. Celebrities like Justin Bieber posted on Instagram, “Is it too late now to say sorry?” in reference to his hit single “Sorry.” Tyra Banks tweeted “Dang girl. You betta #SMIZE,” urban slang for “smile with your eyes.” The model celebrity added, “@PiaWurtzbach For the win, girl.”

Read more on Colombian president’s reaction and celebrities’ post on social media.

SpaceX successfully landed its powerful Falcon 9 rocket in an upright position Monday, December 21(Tuesday, December 22 in Manila), a historic first in the company’s bid to make rockets as reusable as airplanes. “The Falcon has landed,” a commentator said above the screams and cheers of people gathered at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Video images on SpaceX’s webcast showed the first stage of the rocket touching down at Cape Canaveral, Florida. “The Falcon first stage landing is confirmed,” SpaceX wrote on Twitter.The US space agency NASA also applauded the feat. “Congratulations @SpaceX on your successful vertical landing of the first stage back on Earth!” NASA said in a tweet.

Read more on Space X’s vertical landing.

Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling praised the casting of a black actress to play the wizard’s sidekick Hermione Granger in a London play based on the saga. Producers of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”, set to open in June, said Swaziland-born actress Noma Dumezweni would play the role made famous by Emma Watson in the film series. Rowling gave her seal of approval in a tweet, “brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever. White skin was never specified. Rowling loves black Hermione.”

Read more on the Harry Potter play.

An ethics tribunal of scandal-plagued FIFA banned Sepp Blatter and football legend Michel Platini for 8 years from all football activity saying they had abused their positions over a 2 million Swiss francs payment made to Platini. The sentence against the two most powerful men in football highlighted the troubles faced by the world’s most popular sport. A statement by the court said both showed “abusive execution” of their powers. FIFA was investigating a two million Swiss francs payment authorized by Blatter to Platini in 2011 for work as a consultant carried out between 1999 and 2002. The FIFA court dropped corruption charges against both men, but said both were guilty of a conflict of interest.

Read more on the FIFA ban.

Basketball fan and Rappler writer Ignacio Dee remembers Lim Eng Beng, whom he calls one of the greatest to ever play hoops in the Philippines. Dee quoted PBA legend Ramon Fernandez who said on Facebook that Beng “let his game do the talking.” He also talked to Manila Beer Brewmasters assistant coach Nemie Villegas who said Lim’s long-range jumpers were as accurate as a dunk. The writer looked back at the glory days of the unforgettable 1980 game between Toyota and U-Tex and his days with La Salle.

Read more on the tribute to Lim Eng Beng.

Rappler reporter Mara Cepeda attended a gathering of the Philippine Lightsaber Guild before they watch a Episode 7: The Force Awakens in a cinema. The fans, who were mostly in costume and had brought along their lightsabers, talked about why they love the series and what they think of the franchise. One fan said, “I cried a lot of times, and it’s something that you wouldn’t be ashamed of. I laughed, cheered, I screamed, I clapped my hands.” A young fan added, “It really touches you because these people are legends. I wasn’t even born when these people were in Star Wars, so it feels really good to be able to see them in theaters.”

Watch why fans love Star Wars.

Comedians Amy Poehler and Tina Fey were back in Saturday Night Live with a parody of Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood.” The sketch started out with a podcast interview asking them how they deal with their busy lives. “Oh you know, we just have a great squad of people who help us out,” answered Amy, to which the reporter replied, “Oh yeah, a squad of models and starlets.” Tina answered, “No, it’s not like that,” then the scene cut to the “Dope Squad” music video, which paid tribute to the people in their lives like their nannies and their gynecologist.

Watch the Bad Blood parody.