Random News: March 3, 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 3, 2023, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! Here’s what’s happening around town and around the globe and around my brain…

• I don’t really cover sensational murders. I cover mass shootings because that’s a continuous plague that affects people from all walks of life.
• But yes, Alex Murdaugh was found guilty yesterday of the murder of his wife and son.
• He’s scheduled to be sentenced today. He faces a minimum of 30 years for each count, though prosecutors are going for life in prison.
• Residents of East Palestine, OH are plenty mad. I would be too if someone dumped tons of toxic shit in my backyard.
• The angrily confronted Norfolk Southern railroad's rep yesterday at a town forum, demanding to know whether they'd be relocated from homes they're afraid to live in.
• My thought: if you’re going to run a huge company and you make massive profits off transporting highly dangerous shit around and you fuck up, you pay the price of doing whatever it takes to ensure people’s safety.
• And now, The Weather: “Polyester” by Sunnbrella
• It won’t last, but some regions in California are saying goodbye to the drought after the onslaught of rain and snow storms that hit the state recently.
• "Most California reservoirs have refilled with water levels near or above average, but groundwater levels remain low and may take months to recover."
• Yup.
• Fox News has imposed a “soft ban” on Donald Trump appearing on the channel, his inner circle is reportedly complaining, even as the broadcaster extends a warm invitation to other Republican hopefuls in next year’s presidential election.
• Haha.
• Speaking of that guy, yesterday the DOJ said Trump does not have immunity privilege in those lawsuits, rejecting his arguments for “absolute immunity.”
• The orange-hued former president faces lawsuits from members of Congress who were threatened by mobs of pro-Trump supporters on Jan. 6, as well as Capitol Police officers who defended the building that day.
• The suits seek to hold Trump liable for physical and psychological injuries.
• Get his ass.
• Our beloved Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said Thursday she was hospitalized in San Francisco with shingles after she missed Senate votes this week. Feinstein is 89.
• “I have been hospitalized and am receiving treatment in San Francisco and expect to make a full recovery,” Feinstein said. “I hope to return to the Senate later this month.”
• Heal well.
• Today in history… The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau (1776). The U.S. Congress passes the Missouri Compromise (1820). Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state (1845). The Territory of Minnesota is created (1849). The U.S. Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any "obscene literature and articles of immoral use" through the mail (1873). John D. Rockefeller Jr. announces his retirement from managing his businesses so that he can devote all his time to philanthropy (1910). The United States adopts The Star-Spangled Banner as its national anthem (1931). In Bombay, Mohandas Gandhi begins a hunger strike in protest at the autocratic rule in British India (1939). NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module (1969). An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers (1991). 
• March 3 is the birthday of author/journalist William Godwin (1756), engineer/businessman George Pullman (1831), engineer Alexander Graham Bell (1847), businessman/con artist Charles Ponzi (1882), actress Jean Harlow (1911), actor James Doohan (1920), actress Diana Barrymore (1921), singer-songwriter/guitarist Doc Watson (1923), fashion designer Perry Ellis (1940), singer-songwriter Jennifer Warnes (1947), singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock (1953), radio host Ira Glass (1959), NFL player and failed political candidate Herschel Walker (1962), rapper Tone Lōc (1966), actress Jessica Biel (1982), and NBA player Jayson Tatum (1998).

My busy work bullshit continues today. However, things are coming together and I feel less and less like there’s an anvil hanging over my head. Enjoy your day.