Random News: February 21, 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 21, 2023, and it’s a Tuesday. I have to admit I’m getting better, so let’s see what else is happening…

• Southern Turkey and Syria can’t catch a damn break. Another 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit the area yesterday, bringing more damage and deaths to a region that’s had more than its share.
• It was apparently another aftershock to the massive series of quakes that killed tens of thousands two weeks ago.
• Best of luck to those people.
• Taking their cue from Elon Musk’s similar action on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are launching a new service so users can pay to become verified.
• I couldn’t possibly be less interested in paying any social media money for a check mark. The monthly subscription service will start at $11.99 a month on the web or $14.99 a month on iOS or Android.
• Vladimir Putin has pulled out of the last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the USA.
• According to US officials, Russia had already refused on numerous occasions to allow inspections of its nuclear facilities.
• Hope we all don’t die. At once, I mean.
• Something I meant to include yesterday: RIP to Richard Belzer, who passed away Sunday at age 78.
• Most of you know him as Detective John Munch from shows like ‘Homicide’ and ‘Law & Order’, but I also remember him as a super-funny dry and acerbic standup comic back in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
• Virginians are heading to the polls today in what could be a historic special election, with state Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan (D-Richmond) vying to become Virginia’s first Black congresswoman.
• The state’s 4th Congressional District seat is vacant after the death of U.S. Rep. A. Donald McEachin in November, shortly after he secured a third term. McClellan is widely expected to win in the deep-blue, Richmond-anchored district.
• Teachers in Indiana public schools could be required to tell parents if a student changes their gender identity or preferred name under a bill House committee members approved yesterday.
• Opponents of the bill — which lawmakers voted 9-4 to send to the full House for consideration — said it would alienate LGBTQ students, particularly transgender youth, and possibly force kids to come out to their parents. Supporters argued the legislation would empower parents to choose how their children are raised.
• I’m so sick of people telling other people how to live and love.
• And now, The Weather: “Gas Pump” by EVNTYD
• Also in weather news… a huge winter storm is about to slam into the USA. In Los Angeles and southwest California, it will be "the coldest storm of the season, and possibly of the last several years," the local NWS office said.
• Oh, just for me while I’m still recovering from COVID? Thanks weather gods!
• Anyway, various parts of the country will be getting record highs and record lows and yet people still argue about global climate change being intensified by the actions of humanity.
• Ah well. Stay warm, I guess.
• Responding to Nikki Haley’s assertion that any politician over 75 should be forced to take mental acuity tests…
• “I think that’s absurd. We are fighting racism, we’re fighting sexism, we’re fighting homophobia, I think we should also be fighting ageism. Trust people, look at people and say, ‘You know, this person is competent, this person is not competent.’ There are a lot of 40-year-olds out there who ain’t particularly competent.” - Sen Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
• Love that dude.
• From the Sports Desk… for no reason, ESPN’s current NHL Power Rankings (top ten only): 1. Boston Bruins, 2. Carolina Hurricanes, 3. Toronto Maple Leafs, 4. New Jersey Devils, 5. Tampa Bay Lightning, 6. Dallas Stars, 7. Winnipeg Jets, 8. New York Rangers, 9. Vegas Golden Knights, 10. Los Angeles Kings.
• Today in history… A force of 1,400 French soldiers invade Britain at Fishguard in support of the Society of United Irishmen and are defeated by 500 British reservists (1797). John Greenough is granted the first U.S. patent for the sewing machine (1842). Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish ‘The Communist Manifesto’ (1848). The newly completed Washington Monument is dedicated (1895). The New Yorker publishes its first issue (1925). In New York City, Edwin Land demonstrates the first "instant camera", the Polaroid Land Camera, to a meeting of the Optical Society of America (1947). The peace symbol, commissioned in protest against the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, is designed and completed by Gerald Holtom (1958). Malcolm X is gunned down while giving a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem (1965). United States President Richard Nixon visits China to normalize Sino-American relations (1972). Former United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are sentenced to prison in the Watergate scandal (1975). Russian President Vladimir Putin declares the Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic as independent from Ukraine, and moves troops into the region, an action condemned by the United Nations (2022).
• February 21 is the birthday of executed accused witch Rebecca Nurse (1621), scientist/inventor Francis Ronalds (1788), Mexico president Antonio López de Santa Anna (1794), guitarist Andrés Segovia (1893), essayist//novelist/diarist Anaïs Nin (1903), poet W. H. Auden (1907), computer scientist Thelma Estrin (1924), film director Sam Peckinpah (1925), journalist/humorist Erma Bombeck (1927), singer-songwriter Nina Simone (1933), actress Rue McClanahan (1934), businessman David Geffen (1943), actress Tyne Daly (1946), actor Alan Rickman (1946), guitarist/songwriter/producer Jerry Harrison (1949), keyboardist Vince Welnick (1951), actor Kelsey Grammer (1955), novelist Chuck Palahniuk (1962), singer-songwriter Ranking Roger (1963), NBA player Steve Francis (1977), actress Jennifer Love Hewitt (1979), actor/filmmaker Jordan Peele (1979), singer-songwriter Charlotte Church (1986), actor Elliot Page (1987), and actress Sophie Turner (1996).

Yesterday I had my first normal full work day after five days of being ill with COVID. I got through it okay. I can still tell I’m pretty sick, and no sir, I don’t like it one bit. But I’m trying to be patient and let my body do its miraculous shit. Got a typical Tuesday ahead, or at least I hope I do. Enjoy your day.