Random News: January 24, 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 24, 2023, and it’s a Tuesday. Here’s what I’ve heard…

• Another day, another mass shooting in America.
• Yesterday, it was in Half Moon Bay, a beautiful coastal city about 30 miles south of San Francisco.
• Seven people are confirmed dead, and it seems like the suspect in custody is a man named Zhao Chunli, age 67. It appears that the victims include Chinese farm workers. They seem to have worked on a marijuana farm together? Not quite sure on that detail.
• Anyway.
• Meanwhile up the road in Oakland, another mass shooting killed one and injured seven. The killer got away. Apparently some folks were shooting a music video when it happened.
• We are three weeks into 2023 and there have been 38 mass shootings thus far. Or is it 39? I can’t keep track.
• It doesn’t happen in countries with reasonable gun control laws.
• Moving on.
• One of the biggest pricks who was part of the failed coup attempt on January 6, 2021 was found guilty on eight counts by a Washington, D.C. jury.
• Richard Barnett, also known by the idiotic name of “Bigo,” was the asshole who was infamously photographed putting his feet on a desk in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the insurrection.
• He will soon be sentenced for eight federal crimes.
• Meanwhile, four members of the Oath Keepers were convicted yesterday of seditious conspiracy in the January 6 attack on the USA. This is the second major trial of far-right extremists accused of plotting to forcibly keep Donald Trump in power.
• Joseph Hackett of Sarasota, FL; Roberto Minuta of Prosper, TX; David Moerschel of Punta Gorda, FL; and Edward Vallejo of Phoenix, AZ comes weeks after after a different jury convicted the group’s leader, Stewart Rhodes, in the attack.
• The Justice Department is also trying to secure sedition convictions against the former leader of the Proud Boys and four associates. The trial against Enrique Tarrio and his lieutenants opened earlier this month in Washington and is expected to last several weeks.
• Get their asses.
• Meanwhile in Congress, the head of House Democrats Hakeem Jeffries has submitted Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) to sit on the powerful Intelligence Committee, and is also expected to seat Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
• This was done to make Republicans super mad, and will force them to hold a floor vote to remove her for being Muslim.
• And now, The Weather: “Walker Lake” by Good Looks
• Very sorry to hear about the passing of a well-known Second Life music supporter at last weekend’s Tampa Jam. Her name is still being withheld pending notification of her family and friends.
• Unlike many other folks in the SL music scene, I was not personally acquainted with her. I was well aware of her BBW Heaven Beach Club, having seen many event notices of my fellow SL musicians who performed there.
• Life can, unfortunately, end quickly without warning. I’ve witnessed that personally with a number of relatives and friends.
• In any case, per the outpouring of support I’ve seen from many, she was a beloved person who was very supportive of live music in SL and a good friend to many, and she will be deeply missed. 
• From the Sports Desk… on Sunday night, the Portland Trailblazers were killing the Los Angeles Lakers, outscoring them by 32 in the second quarter alone.
• What came next was one of the biggest turnarounds in Lakers franchise history -- tied for the second-largest halftime deficit overcome to win.
• The team credits their rabble rouser, Patrick Beverly, for a halftime pep talk.
• "Told the guys, 'Just turn our swag up.’ Understand we're fortunate to play a game that gives us stability to take care of our families, be able to live a lifestyle, a fortunate lifestyle that a lot of people dream about. So regardless of what's going on, have fun with this shit. Stay swaggy. That was my message, and we came out and responded."
• The result was an improbable 121-112 come-from-behind victory. L.A. outscored Portland 75-41 after halftime. Side note: the Lakers still pretty much suck with a 22-25 record so far, so hopefully this will spur a larger turnaround for the men in purple and gold.
• Today in history… Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula (41). King Henry VIII of England suffers an accident while jousting, leading to a brain injury that historians say may have influenced his later erratic behavior and possible impotence (1536). King Charles II of England dissolves the Cavalier Parliament (1679). James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill near Sacramento, CA (1848). The first Boy Scout troop is organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell (1908). In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional (1916). The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, changing the beginning and end of terms for all elected federal offices (1933). The Voyager 2 space probe makes its closest approach to Uranus (1986). Notorious serial killer Ted Bundy, with over 30 known victims, is executed by the electric chair at the Florida State Prison (1989). The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation (2003).
• January 24 is the birthday of Roman emperor Hadrian (76), philosopher Christian Wolff (1679), Prussian king Frederick the Great (1712), US Air Force general Hoyt Vandenberg (1899), businessman J. Howard Marshall (1905), painter Robert Motherwell (1915), evangelist Oral Roberts (1918), singer-songwriter Ray Stevens (1939), singer-songwriter Neil Diamond (1941), singer Aaron Neville (1941), actress Sharon Tate (1943), congressman John Garamendi (1945), singer-songwriter Warren Zevon (1947), actor John Belushi (1949), NBA player Mark Eaton (1957), pianist/singer-songwriter Jools Holland (1958), actress Nastassja Kinski (1961), actor Phil LaMarr (1967), gymnast Mary Lou Retton (1968), actor Matthew Lillard (1970), actor Ed Helms (1974), actress Mischa Barton (1986), and NFL coach Sean McVay (1986).

If you’ve been following along, Tuesday is a day with a bunch of meetings, and grocery shopping in the afternoon. Why Tuesday? I don’t know. I started doing that almost three years ago at the beginning of the pandemic, limiting my necessary exposure to other people to one day per week, and stuck with it as I tend to do. I didn’t have any specific meeting conflicts later in the day on Tuesdays, so that was probably the impetus. Did it work? Well, I never got COVID, so it sure didn’t hurt. Enjoy your day.