Random News: January 23, 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 23, 2023, and it’s a Monday. Forthcoming is a variety of items of information and opinion in no particular order…

• Yesterday was pretty weird in my neck of the woods, especially for a usually peaceful Sunday.
• The suspect in the mass shooting up in Monterey Park (about 30 miles north of here) ended up in Torrance (less than two miles southeast of here on a corner I pass by often), in a standoff with law enforcement agencies.
• It appears he killed himself shortly after being captured in a parking lot near a local mall. He was confirmed as the shooter in the mass murder, and was identified as Huu Can Tran, 72.
• There is still no update on Tran’s motives for the mass shooting. We do know he used a magazine-fed assault pistol with an extended magazine.
• So that wasn’t fun, for him or anyone.
• The further away that national news happens from my front door, the happier I usually am.
• Another side note to this story.
• After the carnage in Monterey Park, the gunman went to a second location in Alhambra, just north of the first mass murder scene. He entered another ballroom where residents were also holding Lunar New Year celebrations.
• But this time, he encountered Brandon Tsay, 26, upon arriving.
• "He started prepping the weapon and something came over me. I realized I needed to get the weapon away from him. I needed to take this weapon, disarm him or else everybody would have died."
• He thought he was going to die… and took action anyway.
• Tsay lunged at Tran and they struggled for the gun. They two men fought in a life-or-death tussle. Brandon was able to disarm Tran, and pointed the gun at him at told him to leave.
• This could have been way, way worse if not for a brave young hero.
• Moving on.
• President Biden will name Jeff Zients to serve as his next chief of staff, replacing Ron Klain who is expected to leave in the coming weeks.
• Previously, Zients successfully oversaw the administration’s coronavirus response, leading the largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history.
• Good luck to him in his new role.
• Yesterday, on the 50th anniversary of the landmark Roe v Wade decision that was overturned last year by a far-right Supreme Court pressured by Republicans, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke and detailed fights throughout history for liberties such as civil rights and the right to vote for women.
• She tied that to access for abortion, which Harris called the “fundamental, constitutional, right of a woman to make decisions about her own body.”
• Let’s hope it stays that way for as many women as possible.
• And now, The Weather: “Core” by Battle Ave
• While the senseless murder of people in SoCal was horrific, it wasn’t the only mass shooting in a 24-hour period. Early Sunday morning, someone targeted a club in Baton Rouge, LA and shot 12 people. They are all expected to survive, somehow.
• In good political news, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) announced today that he will run for the U.S. Senate in Arizona. He will be looking to replace Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
• Gallego is a great guy who is a Marine veteran and has served in the House since 2015. He comes from a humble background and is a first-generation American. I will support him in every way I can.
• From the Sports Desk… we are all set for the NFL conference championships next Sunday. In the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers (2) will be facing the Philadelphia Eagles (1) at noon PST, while in the AFC, the scrappy Cincinnati Bengals (3) will play the Kansas City Chiefs (1) at 3:30PM PST.
• If you ask me — and you probably shouldn’t — the most dominant team remaining is the Eagles.
• Today in history… Zhu Yuanzhang ascends the throne of China as the Hongwu Emperor, initiating Ming dynasty rule over China that would last for three centuries (1368). The Royal Exchange opens in London (1571). Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his ‘Lettres provinciales’ (1656). Georgetown College, the first Catholic university in the United States, is founded in Georgetown, MD, now a part of Washington, D.C. (1789). Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her M.D. by the Geneva Medical College of Geneva, NY, becoming the United States' first female doctor (1849). Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler (1941). American inventor Walter Frederick Morrison sells the rights to his flying disc to the Wham-O toy company, which later renames it the “Frisbee" (1957). The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified (1964). The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley (1986). Madeleine Albright becomes the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of State (1997). Netscape announces Mozilla, with the intention to release Communicator code as open source (1998). A very weak signal from Pioneer 10 is detected for the last time, but no usable data can be extracted (2003). 
• January 23 is the birthday of general/politician John Hancock (1737), painter Édouard Manet (1832), weapons designer John Browning (1855), engineer Frank Shuman (1862), actor Randolph Scott (1898), guitarist Django Reinhardt (1910), pianist Marty Paich (1925), actor Rutger Hauer (1944), singer Anita Pointer (1948), actor Richard Dean Anderson (1950), pilot Chesley Sullenberger (1951), singer Robin Zander (1953), and NHL player Brendan Shanahan (1969).

It’s a Monday, as I mentioned above. I hope it’s a mellow one. Let’s have less senseless deaths and violence and anger, and more thoughtful discourse and music and fun. That seems highly preferable. Enjoy your day.