Random News: January 1, 2023

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 January 1, 2023, and it’s a Sunday. I’m up reasonably early and I’d like to know what’s happened and share it with you…

• Rabbit rabbit rabbit.
• We’ll start our 2023 news bullets with my home state. The weather so far this year here in typically placid California has been rather tumultuous.
• Both Northern and Southern California were hammered by an atmospheric river-type storm, bringing flooding rain and heavy mountain snowfall.
• This is good for our near-constant drought, and less good for a lot of people who’d planned to go to outdoor events on New Year’s Eve last night (and definitely not good for people in flood-prone areas).
• Places like Highway 99, a major north/south route in central CA, had flooding so bad that cars were submerged. Families had to be rescued from rushing water in San Bernardino County.
• There’s another similar storm heading our way in the next couple of days.
• There’s a new dominant strain of COVID hitting the USA. This omicron subvariant is named XBB.1.5, and the concern is that there will be a big wave of COVID cases following the busy holiday travel season. 
• The CDC projected that about 40% of confirmed U.S. COVID cases are caused by the XBB.1.5 strain, up from 20% a week ago. In the Northeast, about 75% of confirmed cases are reported to be XBB.1.5. 
• Symptoms of XBB.1.5 are no more or less severe than typical omicron.
• Be vaccinated and use a mask when it’s smart. Thank you.
• Speaking of disease, the FPOTUS had his annual New Year’s party at his golf motel in Florida last night.
• He invited journalists to a surprise slot of "media availability” but not a single cable news network covered it. Even Fox News and Newsmax, which have historically offered sympathetic coverage of the former president, skipped on covering his remarks.
• Welp.
• A more interesting news item about the Orange Menace happened this week when he posted an article on his social network that floated the idea of running a third-party campaign if Republican leaders don’t get behind his 2024 run for the presidency.
• The article correctly stated that such a move would torpedo Trump’s chances of winning the White House, but it would also wipe out Republican hopes for any other candidate.
• Heh heh. Don’t be shocked when it happens.
• And now, The Weather: “Lucky” by Lo Noom
• On Friday, the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted to uphold a Florida school-board policy requiring students to use the bathroom of their biological sex.
• Fucking pricks.
• “A policy can lawfully classify on the basis of biological sex without unlawfully discriminating on the basis of transgender status,” the Trump-appointed judge Barbara Lagoa wrote for the majority.
• How can that not, by definition, be discriminatory?
• I promise that Florida will eventually pay a hefty price for these and other bigoted policies.
• A little personal news. We had a band meeting with They Stole My Crayon late yesterday afternoon. It was an excellent way to spend a couple of hours on New Year’s Eve.
• We did a full review of all demo song candidates for the new album, made some decisions and a lot of notes.
• We have a list of tasks to start on the refine these songs, and will be meeting bi-weekly until we’re ready to hand the songs off for mixing. That’s some exciting shit!
• And fun too.
• In other music news, send congratulations to Sir Brian May. The Queen guitarist received a knighthood from the New Year’s Honors List, the first from King Charles.
• In addition to his workin music and animal rights, Sir Brian is a doctor of astrophysics and does award-winning work in stereoscopy, or 3D imaging. We are likely slackers compared to him.
• Back in political news, Tuesday January 3 will be the first vote to see if Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has the requisite 218 votes to be the next Speaker of the House.
• It’s not known yet if he does, and a cadre of hardcore far-right “Never Kevin” House members say they will not vote for him. Who knows what sleazy backroom shit is going on in the next 48 hours to grease McCarthy’s skids into the role?
• From the Sports Desk… we’re at the penultimate week of the NFL season. I’d say it’s pretty likely that the playoff picture will be solid after today. 
• Only two playoff slots remain in the AFC (with four teams still in contention), and three remain in the NFC (with eight teams vying).
• Today in history… For the first time, Roman consuls begin their year in office on January 1 (153 BC). Emperor Honorius issues a historic ban on gladiatorial fights (404). Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral discovers the coast of Brazil (1500). Scotland recognises January 1 as the start of the year, instead of March 25 (1600). The first traveler's cheques, which could be used in 90 European cities, are issued by the London Credit Exchange Company (1772). Norfolk, Virginia is burned by combined Royal Navy and Continental Army action (1776). The first edition of The Times of London is published (1788). Ceres, the largest and first known object in the Asteroid belt, is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi (1801). French rule ends in Haiti, and it becomes the first black-majority republic and second independent country in North America after the United States (1804). The United States bans the importation of slaves (1808). The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect in Confederate territory (1863). Ellis Island begins processing immigrants into the United States (1892). New York, NY annexes land from surrounding counties with four initial boroughs - Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx - that are then joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs. The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia (1901). The first American college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Stanford, is held in Pasadena, CA (1902). The Republic of China is established (1912). Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay becomes a United States federal prison (1934). Fulgencio Batista, dictator of Cuba, is overthrown by Fidel Castro's forces (1959). Cigarette advertisements are banned on American television (1971). The ARPANET officially changes to using TCP/IP, the Internet Protocol, effectively creating the Internet (1983). 
• January 1 is the birthday of silversmith/patriot Paul Revere (1735), seamstress Betsy Ross (1752), FBI director J. Edgar Hoover (1895), boxer Rocky Graziano (1919), author J. D. Salinger (1919), philanthropist/diplomat James Hormel (1933), actor Frank Langella (1938), singer-songwriter Country Joe McDonald (1942), comedian Don Novello (1943), and rapper/DJ Grandmaster Flash (1958).

Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? I didn’t. I never do. My plan for 2023 is to keep on doing what I do. I will, with 100% likelihood, make some mistakes, continue some bad habits, and do things that I will regret in some way that would be preventable with some thought and effort. I will also continue doing some good things, be creative, be responsible, and try and find happiness and peace where I can. That’s who I am and it’s likely I’ll remain me until I am no longer here to be me. Enjoy your day.