Random News: July 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 July 3, 2023, and it’s a Monday. Some people in the USA have the day off because they have the following day off and it’s easier to give them this day off instead of having them all scheme to not show up anyway. I am working. Let’s do some news…

• Israel launched extensive air and ground attacks on the West Bank city of Jenin starting early today, striking what it called a militant “operational command center” in a further escalation in the occupied city that is a hub of armed Palestinian resistance.
• Israel says the assaults were the start of an “extensive counterterrorism effort” centered on a densely populated Jenin refugee camp. At least eight people were killed and 50 injured. The Israel Defense Forces, which entered the area with about 1,000 soldiers, said the operation would continue indefinitely.
• Sigh.
• Back in the USA, a giant ball of excrement in human form, otherwise know as former White House adviser Stephen Miller, sent a testy message to top law schools over the weekend following the Supreme Court’s decision banning colleges from using affirmative action in their admission decisions.
• He threatened to sue them if they “violate, circumvent, bypass, subvert or otherwise program around” the ruling in Students for Fair Admissions cases against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina.
• So to be clear: you now have a white guy — who resembles a thumb that you drew an ugly face on — who will be monitoring every college to make sure they’re enrolling enough white kids.
• That’s MAGA for ya. Moving on…
• A union representing 15,000 workers at 65 major hotels in Los Angeles and Orange counties followed through with their planned strike yesterday morning in a push for significantly improved wages.
• Among the affected hotels are the Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott LA Live, Beverly Hilton, Fairmont Miramar, Anaheim Hilton, and Four Seasons Regent Beverly Wilshire.
• Besides the increased bookings that might come from this being a four-day holiday weekend, the strike comes at a time of a major convention being held in the city, the sold-out Los Angeles Anime Expo, which my son attended on Saturday.
• In other news…
• If you’re leaving the US anytime in the next six months, I hope your passport is valid.
• A backup of U.S passport applications has smashed into a wall of government bureaucracy as worldwide travel rebounds toward record pre-pandemic levels, but the wait times are often many months.
• Due to lingering pandemic-related staffing shortages and a pause of online processing this year, the State Department — which is being flooded with a record-busting 500,000 applications a week — is also taking record amounts of time issuing passports.
• Moving on…
• You know when you’re a little kid and people tell you never to jump or especially dive into a body of water that might be more shallow than you believe?
• A poor guy in Texas never got that info. The 34-year-old man died after diving off a 40-foot embankment into what turned out to be four feet oof water.
• "The initial investigation revealed that alcohol may have been a contributing factor in this unfortunate incident," police said.
• Nods. Anyway, please try and be smart and keep yourself alive.
• And now, The Weather: “Sedan Delivery” by Neil Young
• Little note about the song above. You probably know my “Weather” tracks almost always feature new music released in the past month, and sometimes not even released yet.
• Neil recorded this version of “Sedan Delivery” in 1975. He put out a live version of the tune in 1979, but he is finally releasing the studio version, which is insanely great, on August 11 of this year as part of the long-awaited ‘Chrome Dreams’ album.
• Here’s my annual reminder that based on the law of averages, about three people reading these words will be missing a finger or an eye by Wednesday. I know fireworks are fun. I know you think of them as a tradition for this holiday.
• And I know that many of you will be drunk and stupid while trying to ignite them at your little neighborhood party. If you’re going to disfigure someone’s please make sure it’s yourself and not some little kid who happens to be nearby.
• Moving on… to Maine, where the women are tougher than bears.
• 64-year-old Lynn Kelly was working in her backyard when her dog started barking and ran into the woods. When her dog returned, he was being chased by a bear.
• “I ran over to where he had gone down and kept calling him and calling him, and he finally came running back up. And right behind him was the bear. The bear looked at me, and I looked at the bear. I think we both scared each other.”
• Kelly confronted the bear head on, and when the bear stood up, she stood up as tall as she could, then punched the bear in the nose. That’s when the bear bit her in her right hand and left puncture wounds in her wrist.
• After the punch, the bear let go of her wrist and ran back into the woods.
• In “I Wish More Actors Were This Cool” news… 
• "I've decided to forbid bigots and homophobes from watching ‘The Sopranos’, ‘The White Lotus’, ‘Goodfellas’, or any movie or TV show I've been in. Thank you, Supreme Court, for allowing me to discriminate and exclude those who I don't agree with and am opposed to. USA! USA!” - actor Michael Imperioli
• From the Sports Desk… MLB has announced its All-Star lineup for 2023. 
• The game, being held on July 11 in Seattle, will feature 42 first- or second-time selections, including 26 players making their All-Star debuts.
• Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw is making his 10th All-Star appearance, second only to the Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout, who was selected to his 11th All-Star Game.
• The red-hot Atlanta Braves will send eight players to the Midsummer Classic — the most of any team since the 2012 Texas Rangers, and the most of any NL team since the 2008 Chicago Cubs. The contingent includes Atlanta's entire starting infield.
• The Rangers have six All-Stars this year, tops in the American League, and the Dodgers have five representatives, the fourth consecutive year they've sent at least five players to the All-Star Game.
• Today in history… William the Conqueror becomes Duke of Normandy (1035). Québec City is founded by Samuel de Champlain (1608). George Washington takes command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, MA (1775). Dow Jones & Company publishes its first stock average (1884). Idaho is admitted as the 43rd U.S. state (1890). The Constitution of Puerto Rico is approved by the United States Congress (1952). U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul (1979). President of Egypt Mohamed Morsi is overthrown by the military after four days of protests all over the country calling for Morsi's resignation (2013).
• July 3 is the birthday of French king Louis XI (1423), poet William Henry Davies (1871), author Franz Kafka (1883), composer Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901), actor Ken Russell (1927), guitarist Tommy Tedesco (1930), lawyer/activist Gloria Allred (1941), actor Kurtwood Smith (1943), journalist Dave Barry (1947), singer-songwriter Laura Branigan (1952), bass player Andy Fraser (1952), talk show host Montel Williams (1956), musician Poly Styrene (1957), singer-songwriter Stephen Pearcy (1959), singer-songwriter/musician/producer Vince Clarke (1960), actor Tom Cruise (1962), NHL player Teemu Selänne (1970), and activist Julian Assange (1971).

Man, it is super quiet this morning with most people being off both work and school. I’m sticking to my regular Monday work schedule, minus a bunch of typical meetings and such, which is nice. I will be taking tomorrow off, because USA! USA! Enjoy your day.