Random News: February 25, 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 afternoon. It’s February 25, 2023, and it’s a Saturday. Not sure what’s happened, but it’s likely someone will tell us…

• It’s been blustery weather around here today. At the beach, it’s been rainy with occasional thunderstorms. Up in higher elevations, there’s been snow.
• You ever meet someone who tells the same lie so much they actually believe it?
• Rep. George Santos (R-NY) falsely told a judge in 2017 that he worked for the investment banking firm Goldman Sachs. It was at a Seattle bail hearing for a “family friend” of Santos named Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha. After the judge asked Santos where he worked, he can be heard responding, “I am an aspiring politician and I work for Goldman Sachs.” 
• After the judge asked Santos where he worked, he responded, “I am an aspiring politician and I work for Goldman Sachs.” 
• Narrator’s Voice: He did not, in fact, ever work for Goldman Sachs.
• 12 Democratic-led states have sued the FDA to challenge certain federal restrictions imposed on the distribution of the abortion pill mifepristone, saying those limits are not supported by evidence.
• The lawsuit, led by Washington and Oregon, was filed on Thursday in federal court in Yakima, Washington and aims to expand access to mifepristone by allowing it to be prescribed and dispensed by any doctor or pharmacy, like most drugs. Currently, doctors who prescribe mifepristone, and pharmacies that dispense it, must obtain a special certification.
• Meanwhile, a separate lawsuit by anti-abortion activists that seeks to end access to the drug is proceeding in Texas.
• Sigh.
• A secret legal fight over the cellphone of Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) has prevented the Justice Department for more than six months from reviewing more than 2,200 documents in the criminal investigation of former president Donald Trump and supporters’ efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
• Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. District Court in D.C. released a number of previously sealed opinions after finding that the “powerful public interest” outweighed the need for secrecy in the constitutional battle over Perry’s claims and the historic investigation.
• Fuck Scott Perry. I hope they shove that phone up his ass.
• And now, The Weather: “Clara's Mouth” by Bedridden
• In comedy news, presumed GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis is hosting a big event this weekend at the Four Seasons hotel — just four miles down the road from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. That’s on purpose.
• Also on purpose: the roster of people there shows that the governor is appealing to major GOP figures who’ve previously aligned themselves with the former president.
• Orange Man is gonna be bigly mad.
• From the Sports Desk… Miami Dolphins cornerback Byron Jones had a chilling message in a social media post that sounds like he’s retiring for obvious reasons.
• “Today I can't run or jump because of my injuries sustained playing this game. DO NOT take the pills they give you. DO NOT take the injections they give you. If you absolutely must, consult an outside doctor to learn the long-term implications. It was an honor and privilege to play in the NFL but it came at a regrettable cost I did not foresee. In my opinion, no amount of professional success or financial gain is worth avoidable chronic pain and disabilities. Godspeed to the draft class of 2023.”
• Jesus.
• Today in history… George Frideric Handel's opera ‘Nero’ premiered in Hamburg (1705). Samuel Colt is granted a United States patent for his revolver firearm (1836). Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in Congress (1870). In his speech On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences, Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union, denounces Stalin (1956). 
• February 25 is the birthday of painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841), tenor Enrico Caruso (1873), diplomat/politician John Foster Dulles (1888), spiritual leader Meher Baba 1894), comedian Zeppo Marx (1901), NHL player King Clancy (1903), actor Jim Backus (1913), author Anthony Burgess (1917), singer Ralph Stanley (1927), singer-songwriter/guitarist George Harrison (1943), wrestler Ric Flair (1949), NBA player/coach Kurt Rambis (1958), comedian Carrot Top (1965), actress Téa Leoni (1966), actor Sean Astin (1971), comedian Chelsea Handler (1975), and actress Rashida Jones (1976).

I am still recovering from the ‘rona. I’m feeling alright. It’s like I need to take the time to rebuild the energy I spent fighting it off. Other members of my house who got it still feel shitty, so it’s not really a gleeful place here this weekend. I’m sure they’ll come around too, soon enough. Enjoy your day.