Random News: January 28, 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.

---

Good morning. It’s January 28, 2023, and it’s a Saturday. I’m relaxing in a robe on an overcast morning, so let’s look at things that have transpired since we last met…

• I have not watched the Tyre Nichols murder video. I really try to avoid seeking out things that will fill me with anger and disgust.
• Everyone says it’s really bad.
• One thing to keep in mind. Whether it’s a traffic violation or some heinous violent crime, it’s not the job of law enforcement to kill suspected criminals. Whether the person is guilty or not is of no bearing.
• All five cops — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith — were fired last week, and on Thursday were taken into custody and face charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression.
• The thing to keep in mind: this was not an aberration. It was just one of the few that were caught on video. Americans have come to expect and accept this, and they shouldn’t.
• We treat this like the cops are acting in some way that’s not within the bounds of their jobs, but the fact is that police are trained to be violent, are trained to use coercive force, and are trained to use weapons in a deadly manner as their first option.
• In the very rare occasions like the case with Mr. Nichols where cops condemn their own for being violent, the condemnation is for not doing violence correctly.
• All of us are innocent until proven guilty. All of us deserve the rights of due process, and not to be killed in the street because law enforcement makes that on-the-spot decision. 
• Moving on, for now…
• Continuing our reporting on the moronic insurrectionists who failed in the coup attempt against the USA on January 6, 2021, Julian Khater was sentenced to 80 months in jail for his actions that led to the death of officer Brian Sicknick. 
• Khater’s purposeful pepper spray attack injured at least three officers. He’s already served 22 months in pre-trial detention. Khater, like other MAGA insurrectionists, is also facing civil suits from the people he assaulted and their families.
• Each of them chose to ruin their own lives for the sake of Donald Trump’s Big Lie. I have zero sympathy. Adults make their own decisions and have to live with the consequences.
• And now, The Weather: “Trauma Kit” by Draag
• There was another mass shooting late last night here in the LA area. Three dead, four others wounded in critical condition, in a shooting outside a house party at 2:30am in the very wealthy area of Benedict Canyon above Beverly Hills. 
• You will be affected by the proliferation of guns in the USA. It’s a matter of when, not if.
• From the Sports Desk… the odds have fluctuated a bit, but seem pretty well established for tomorrow’s NFL Conference Championship games. NFC: PHI (-2.5) over SF. AFC: KC (-1.5) over CIN.
• Games are on Sunday at noon and 3:30PM respectively.
• Today in history… Edward VI, the nine-year-old son of Henry VIII, becomes King of England on his father's death (1547). Execution of Agnes Sampson, accused of witchcraft in Edinburgh (1591). Sir Horace Walpole coins the word “serendipity” in a letter to a friend (1754). Northwestern University becomes the first chartered university in Illinois (1851). An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard as a branch of the United States Armed Forces (1915). Elvis Presley makes his first national television appearance (1956). The Lego company patents the design of its Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today (1958). The National Football League announces expansion teams for Dallas to start in the 1960 NFL season and Minneapolis-St. Paul for the 1961 NFL season (1960). Supergroup USA for Africa records the hit single “We Are the World” to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief (1985). Space Shuttle STS-51-L Challenger disintegrates after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board (1986). 
• January 28 is the birthday of poet/critic Johann Elias Schlegel (1719), businessman William Seward Burroughs I (1855), businessman Charles W. Nash (1864), painter Jackson Pollock (1912), artist Claes Oldenburg (1929), actor Alan Alda (1936), businessman Carlos Slim (1940), NBA coach Gregg Popovich (1949), singer-songwriter Peter Schilling (1956), singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan (1968), SCOTUS justice Amy Coney Barrett (1972), NFL player Daunte Culpepper (1977), singer Nick Carter (1980), and NBA player Andre Iguodala (1984).

I’m in a slightly better mood today than I’d been in recent times. Having french toast shortly. Enjoy your day.