Random News: March 27, 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 March 27, 2023, and it’s a Monday. I’m sure we should be aware of certain things, so let’s see what they are…

• Let’s start today’s news in Israel, where hundreds of thousands of people stopped working Monday to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's unprecedented plans to overhaul the country’s judicial system.
• That was after widespread unrest Sunday night, after Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who became the first member of his Likud Party to speak out against the proposed changes. Tens of thousands protested in Tel Aviv, where demonstrators were sprayed with water cannons. Beersheba, Haifa, and Jerusalem also saw unrest.
• In addition to the general strike for workers, Israel’s diplomatic staff were on strike Monday on the advice of their trade union. Israel’s embassies in Washington and around the world shut as a result and some diplomats have replaced their social media profile pictures with the Israeli flag. All departing flights from Ben-Gurion International Airport have been grounded.
• Way to go, Bibi (slow sarcastic clap).
• Back in the USA, the beleaguered Silicon Valley Bank has a new owner. It’s being purchased by First Citizens Bank, and all 17 of SVB’s branches will open today under the new ownership. 
• SVB’s collapse earlier this month was the second-largest in U.S. history.
• Also exclusive to the USA: about 1 in 20 U.S. adults — roughly 16 million people — now own at least one AR-15. Coincidentally (actually not), ten of the 17 deadliest U.S. mass killings since 2012 have involved AR-15s.
• A ridiculous number of shootings happened this past weekend. Six teens in Brooklyn Center. MN. Two people in OK City. 10 in Chicago. One dead in Spartanburg, SC. A cop in Jacksonville. Two at a Sikh temple in Sacramento, CA. A guy at a gas station in Birmingham, AL. A drive-by in Colorado Springs. Someone at a mall in Indianapolis. Two dead and another five shot in Little Rock, AR. Two in West Louisville. I’d list more but I don’t want to be even more depressed.
• Today, the grand jury in NYC that’s been hearing testimony and reviewing evidence related to a criminal hush money payment benefiting former President Donald Trump is set to resume work. They could be asked to issue an indictment of Trump today. Or not. Guess we’ll see.
• As mentioned previously, the Florida school board led by chair Barney Bishop is now the topic of global ridicule after they demanded the resignation of a principal for showing middle schoolers a photo of Michelangelo’s iconic “David” sculpture, saying the biblical art masterpiece was pornography.
• The Florence, Italy museum housing the “David” invited parents and students from the Florida charter school to visit. Florence Mayor Dario Nardella also tweeted an invitation for ousted principal Hope Carrasquilla to visit so he can personally honor her.
• Confusing art with pornography was “ridiculous,” Nardella said. He’s right.
• Elongated Muskrat has sent an email to employees to announce a stock compensation program. In it, Musk said Twitter was still in bad shape financially.
• He claims Twitter is now worth $20 billion, despite having paid more than twice that much — $44 billion — for the platform last year. Since then, about 75 percent of the company’s 7,500 employees have been laid off or resigned. He also claimed the company was four months away from running out of money at one point.
• Adding to Musk’s woes, parts of Twitter’s source code were leaked online. Twitter moved on Friday to have the leaked code taken down by sending a copyright infringement notice to GitHub, who complied. It was unclear how long the leaked code had been online, but it appeared to have been public for at least several months.
• So sad, too bad.
• And now, The Weather: “Shadowbanned” by Scotch Mist
• Thousands of people in the Greater Cincinnati, OH-region lost power this weekend as strong wind gusts caused power lines and trees to fall. From shutdown traffic lights to detours on the roads, many people were stuck in the dark from the high winds. The outage affected over 350,000 people across Ohio.
• If you’ve never seen the YouTube series “What’s In My Bag?” from Amoeba Records, it’s always pretty cool regardless of what artist/band they talk to. Last week there was a cool one from composer/musician Danny Elfman.
• My favorite Oingo Boingo song? Probably “Nothing Bad Ever Happens”, with “Private Life” in a close second, respectively from 1983 and 1982.
• From the Sports Desk… the NCAA Men’s tournament has a Final Four. On April 1, FAU (9) will face San Diego State (5), and UConn (4) will go up against Miami (5). The winners of those games will battle in the championship on Monday April 3.
• Today in history… Charles I becomes King of England, Scotland and Ireland as well as claiming the title King of France (1625). The United States Government establishes a permanent navy and authorizes the building of six frigates (1794). In central Alabama, U.S. forces under General Andrew Jackson defeat the Creek at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814). President of the United States of America Andrew Johnson vetoes the Civil Rights Act of 1866, but his veto is overridden by Congress and the bill passes into law on April 9 (1866). Nikita Khrushchev becomes Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (1958). Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins (1975). The Food and Drug Administration approves Viagra for use as a treatment for erectile dysfunction, the first pill to be approved for this condition in the United States (1998). North Macedonia becomes the 30th member of NATO (2020).
• March 27 is the birthday of activist Virginia Minor (1824), physicist Wilhelm Röntgen (1845), engineer/businessman Henry Royce (1863), actress Gloria Swanson (1899), bandleader Pee Wee Russell (1906), guitarist Robert Lockwood, Jr. (1915), music producer Phil Chess (1921), singer Sarah Vaughan (1924), mathematician/computer programmer Margaret K. Butler (1924), actor Michael York (1942), keyboardist/songwriter Tony Banks (1950), NFL player Randall Cunningham (1963), film director Quentin Tarantino (1963), singer-songwriter Mariah Carey (1969), and singer-songwriter Fergie (1975).

And now I will go about my day. It’s gonna be busy and stressful, but I’m going to flow with the go, or groove with the move, or dance in my pants. I don’t know what I’m doing. Enjoy your day.