Random News: February 15, 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 February 15, 2023, and it’s a Wednesday. You never know what I’m going to write here, and neither do I…

• Let’s start with a biggie.
• Federal prosecutors investigating former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents are asking a court to force his attorney Evan Corcoran to provide additional testimony.
• What about attorney-client privilege, you ask angrily?
• Welp. 
• Prosecutors alleged in writing to the judge that the former president used his attorney in furtherance of a crime or fraud. That means you no longer get to enjoy that privilege.
• This represents the most aggressive move yet by special counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the investigation. The case and filing remain under seal for now.
• Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has abruptly resigned after more than eight years as head of the country's government.
• "The nature and form of modern political discourse means there is a much greater intensity — dare I say it, brutality — to being a politician than in years gone by."
• Seems accurate to me.
• Sturgeon will remain in office until a new first minister can be elected by the Scottish National Party.
• In other political news…
• My very much beloved but very much elderly Senator from California, Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) announced yesterday that she will not run for reelection in 2024.
• Feinstein, 89, has been a fixture of California politics for decades and was first elected to the US Senate in 1992. She holds the title of longest-serving female US senator in history. I’d say she’s in the top ten most important women politicians of the past 100 years.
• Total legend. There are already two Democrats who’ve launched campaigns for Feinstein’s seat: Rep Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA). There may be more yet to come.
• Either Schiff or Porter would do a superb job. I am postponing endorsement until the full Senatorial race takes shape.
• Another hazardous material spill happened yesterday.
• A crash involving a commercial tractor truck hauling liquid nitric acid on the I-10 near Tucson, AZ has led to evacuation orders and a closure of the interstate. News footage showed horrifying red fumes pluming from the truck.
• A shelter-in-place order that was in effect earlier was lifted Tuesday night. Meanwhile, the one-half-mile perimeter around the incident remains under an evacuation order through this morning.
• Exposure to nitric acid can cause irritation to the eyes, skin and mucous membranes.
• And now, The Weather: “Halloween Store” by Andy Shauf
• Lest we forget, the lawsuits by voting machine makers Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic are continuing against Fox News and Newsmax.
• The media organizations are accused of making false claims about the voting machines changing votes in the 2020 presidential election. The news outlets claim they were only repeating the lies told by former president Trump.
• The stakes are pretty high; Dominion’s suit against Fox News alone is for $1.6 billion.
• Add South Dakota to the list of states that I will never support with any kind of business.
• They joined five other states that have restricted transition-related care for transgender minors in just the past two years. Their governor signed a bill that bans health care professionals from providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery to minors. 
• From the Sports Desk… yes, the NFL season is over, but we’re still wrapping up some ongoing changes. 
• Yesterday, as expected, the Las Vegas Raiders released Derek Carr after he declined to waive his no-trade clause and just before more than $40 million of his contract would have become guaranteed.
• I’m a lifelong Raiders fan and I’ve always respected Carr, but it’s obviously time to move on.
• The Raiders will be filling the hole at the QB position one way or the other. It will be interesting to see who gets the job.
• Today in history… The city of St. Louis is established in Spanish Louisiana — now in Missouri, USA (1764). Confederates commanded by Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd attack General Ulysses S. Grant's Union forces besieging Fort Donelson in Tennessee and the Confederates surrender the following day (1862). US President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States (1879). The battleship USS Maine explodes and sinks in Havana harbor in Cuba, killing about 274 of the ship's roughly 354 crew and giving the United States an excuse to declare war on Spain (1898). In Miami, Giuseppe Zangara attempts to assassinate US President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, but instead shoots Chicago mayor Anton J. Cermak (1933). ENIAC, the first electronic general-purpose computer, is formally dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia (1946). Canada and the United States agree to construct the Distant Early Warning Line, a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic regions of Canada and Alaska (1954). A new red-and-white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner (1965). Sound recordings are granted U.S. federal copyright protection for the first time (1972). Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is sentenced in Milwaukee to 15 terms of life in prison (1992). Protests against the Iraq war take place in over 600 cities worldwide in the largest peace demonstration in history (2003). A meteor explodes over Russia, injuring 1,500 people as a shock wave blows out windows and rocks buildings (2013).
• February 15 is the birthday of Italian ruler Piero the Unfortunate (1472), astronomer/physicist Galileo Galilei (1564), French king Louis XV (1710), businessman Charles Lewis Tiffany (1812), suffragist/activist Susan B. Anthony (1820), politician Elihu Root (1845), politician James Forrestal (1892), actor Cesar Romero (1907), politician Endicott Peabody (1920), actor Harvey Korman (1927), astronaut Roger B. Chaffee (1935), NFL player Ken Anderson (1949), singer-songwriter Melissa Manchester (1951), animator Matt Groening (1954), actor Chris Farley (1964), actress Alex Borstein (1971), my sister Danielle (1972), NHL great Jaromír Jágr (1972), singer-songwriter Brandon Boyd (1976), singer-songwriter Conor Oberst (1980), and rapper Megan Thee Stallion (1995).

So, in whiny news, my back is still getting better (yay!), but I seem to have some kind of… cold? My throat and upper respiratory tract seem fucked up (boo!), to the point that I actually took a COVID test last night to make sure I hadn’t finally come down with the virus; it was negative. Regardless, I’m not happy about this. I don’t like having to even think about my own body and its functions at all. Ah well. Probably nothing and I’ll be fine soon. Enjoy your day.