Random News: December 17, 2022

DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.

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Good morning. It’s December 17, 2022, and it’s a Saturday. I’m a random guy in a robe, so heed my words…

• The father of the young man who committed the mass shooting murder at the Highland Park, IL, Fourth of July parade was taken into custody yesterday and is being charged with seven counts of felony reckless conduct.
• Good.
• The dad, Robert Crimo, Jr., was “criminally reckless” when he signed his son’s application for an Illinois Firearm Owners Identification card nearly three years before the massacre. The son wouldn’t have otherwise been able to get the card since he was under 21.
• Got some more good news.
• Yesterday, the North Carolina Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that struck down the state’s 2018 voter ID law.
• They agreed with the lower court that it had been passed with the intent of targeting Black voters who were unlikely to vote for Republicans.
• Better luck next time, racists.
• The most hardcore right wing of the House is still adamantly refusing to vote for Kevin McCarthy as Speaker. The vote happens January 3.
• With their tiny majority in the House, as few as five MAGA reps can end (or at least delay) McCarthy’s bid for Speaker. It will be interesting watching these dumbasses screw themselves.
• Meet supergenius Edward Kelley of Tennessee.
• He was already facing charges in connection with the January 6, 2021 failed coup attempt.
• Now, along with his pal Austin Carter, he’s also been arrested for allegedly planning to assassinate 37 law enforcement members, including the FBI agents who’d been investigating him. 
• They’ve been charged with conspiracy, retaliating against a federal official, interstate threats and solicitation to commit a crime of violence. Kelley and Carter will remain detained pending further hearings.
• Speaking of Jan 6, the asshole who chased US Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman up flights of stairs near the Senate has been sentenced to five years behind bars.
• Douglas Jensen, one of the first 10 insurrectionists to enter the Capitol during the attack, was convicted by a jury in September of each of the seven charges he faced, including obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting a police officer.
• Fuck him.
• And now, The Weather: “Friday Night” by Beth Orton
• Speaking of the weather, you’re probably bundled up right now, or you should be. Temps are cold pretty much everywhere in the USA right now and will keep getting colder through Christmas.
• Also…
• We’re facing a problem in the West that’s going to become very urgent, very soon.
• The Colorado River's largest reservoirs stand nearly three-quarters empty, and federal officials now say there is a real danger the reservoirs could drop so low that water would no longer flow past Hoover Dam in two years.
• That dire scenario would cut off water supplies to California, Arizona and Mexico.
• We’re in the midst of a 23-year megadrought that’s been supercharged by global climate change. If the coming year is extremely dry, it may be too late.
• More on that definitely coming in subsequent reports.
• Also in California news, the University of California has reached a tentative deal with the thousands of striking grad student workers. Raises of some sort will be implemented after the teachers and researchers complained they couldn't afford rent.
• These people were being paid like double below the state’s poverty line. Ridiculous in the richest state in the nation. Pay those people.
• Little note that just came to mind: if AZ voters are looking for a great Democrat candidate to replace Kyrsten Sinema for Senate in 2024, I’ve already got your dude. His name is Ruben Gallego. Look him up.
• New York has banned the sale of cats, dogs and rabbits in pet stores in an attempt to target commercial breeding operations decried by critics as "puppy mills."
• The new law takes effect in 2024. It will also ban breeders from selling more than nine animals a year.
• Good. If you want a great pet, the animal shelters are always overflowing with wonderful dogs and cats who need homes and loving families.
• From the Sports Desk… just checked the score of the NFL game being played right now. The 4-8-1 Colts are beating the 10-3 Vikings 30-0, and it’s not even halftime. Wow.
• Today in history… Pope Paul III excommunicates Henry VIII of England (1538). France formally recognizes the United States (1777). General Ulysses S. Grant issues General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky (1862). First issue of Vogue is published (1892). The Wright brothers make the first controlled powered, heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (1903). The first NFL Championship Game is played at Wrigley Field in Chicago between the New York Giants and Chicago Bears, with the Bears winning 23–21 (1933). Otto Hahn discovers the nuclear fission of the heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of nuclear energy (1938). All Chinese are again permitted to become citizens of the United States upon the repeal of the Act of 1882 and the introduction of the Magnuson Act (1943). Fernando Collor de Mello defeats Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, becoming the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years (1989). ‘The Simpsons’ premieres on television (1989). Sex work rights activists establish December 17 as International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers (2003). 
• December 17 is the birthday of chemist/physicist Humphry Davy (1778), mathematician Mary Cartwright (1900), chemist Willard Libby (1908), journalist William Safire (1929), publisher Bob Guccione (1930), musician Art Neville (1937), singer-songwriter Eddie Kendricks (1939), singer/harmonica player Paul Butterfield (1942), actor Bernard Hill (1944), actor Eugene Levy (1946), singer-songwriter Paul Rodgers (1949), bass player/songwriter Mike Mills (1958), actor Giovanni Ribisi (1974), boxer/politician Manny Pacquiao (1978), MLB player Chase Utley (1978), and soldier/criminal/activist Chelsea Manning (1987).

So, I’ve had a relaxing morning since starting these bullets, involving a shower, listening to some music I’m working on, and eating a giant breakfast burrito (not at the same time). Now upward and onward. Enjoy your day.