Random News: July 9, 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 9, 2023, and it’s a Sunday. I’m sipping my coffee, my cats say meow, let’s look at the news and get better somehow…

• In disappointing but not entirely unexpected news, a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming care for minors will go into effect after a U.S. appeals court ruling yesterday — the first instance of a federal court allowing a ban of this kind to proceed after similar laws were blocked in other states.
• The 2-1 ruling from the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a lower district court’s injunction that paused the Tennessee law. The new ruling is still only temporary, as the appeals court has to conduct a full review of the case, which the judges said would be completed by Sept. 30.
• Tennessee’s law prohibits medical providers from offering gender-affirming care and requires transgender youths currently receiving such treatment to end that care by March 31, 2024.
• I will put personal time and energy into making sure that trans youths in Tennessee and elsewhere are able to find resources to continue receiving the medical care they need.
• Moving on…
• This morning, John Kirby of the White House's National Security Council defended the Biden administration's decision to send controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine despite the weapons' risk to civilians. Numerous other countries forbid their use.
• Cluster bombs are fired on a position and drop explosive bomblets over a wider area, raising the risk that unexploded ordinance can essentially turn into land mines, sitting in the ground long after being fired and able to be stumbled upon by civilians.
• War. What is it good for? Moving on…
• Sunday is gun-day here at Zak’s Random News, which — by the way — gets less random as time goes by. But anyway, here are a few of the examples of gun violence that happened this weekend in the United States of Ammunition…
• 14 people were shot overnight in Cleveland, including nine in a single mass shooting incident early this morning when a guy opened fire into a crowd in the city’s Warehouse District. Eight shot at a party in El Paso. Five separate shootings in NewOrleans that killed two and injured four. One dead and two injured in Los Angeles. A guy on a scooter in New York City killed one and wounded three in Brooklyn and Queens. Two shot, one killed in Charlotte. Two dead, two injured in Baltimore. One dead in Pittsburgh. One shot in Philly. One dead in Syracuse. Two shot in Cincinnati. Two shot in Louisville. One dead in Galloway, OH.
• Again, those are just the shootings from the past couple of days, and only the ones I saw from a quick scroll through the news.
• America has a gun violence epidemic. The most likely way your children will be killed is by being shot. If you cared, you’d vote for candidates who support reasonable gun control measures.
• If you don’t vote as such, I have to assume you don’t care. Tell me if you think there’s a hole in my logic. I’m not seeing it.
• And now, The Weather: “Dark Spell” by Ainsley Farrell
• Severe storms expected today in various places. Stay safe please.
• Over in the UK, the BBC has suspended “a male member of staff” following allegations of sexual misconduct. A woman has accused an unnamed male BBC presenter of paying her teen child for sexually explicit photographs.
• Men need to control their dicks.
• In local (to me) news, a massive landslide has forced the evacuation of 12 homes in the Rolling Hills Estates area late last night.
• So far, sixteen residents have been displaced. The twelve impacted homes have been red-tagged. Other residents have the option of staying. The American Red Cross is helping shelter families that were evacuated.
• Which is nice, of course, but Rolling Hills Estates is one of the wealthiest communities in the entire country, so maybe those folks can just stay in one of their other mansions while this is being addressed. Not trying to be snarky here.
• In a very cute story on CBS’s “On the Road”, an 11-year-old girl discovered the smooth-ass voice of Michael McDonald and he became her favorite musical artist even after finding out he was old enough to be her parents’ grandpa.
• Paisley Gardner of Des Moines, IA got to see Michael perform with the Doobies at a local show, and then Steve Hartman surprised her by introducing her to her musical hero via Zoom, and she burst into tears.
• Adorable.
• From the Sports Desk… soccer legend Megan Rapinoe announced that she will retire from professional soccer at the conclusion of the 2023 National Women's Soccer League season. 
• She’ll play her final regular-season match at Seattle's Lumen Field on October 6. Rapinoe, 38, is preparing to compete with the two-time defending champion USWNT in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, which runs from July 20 to Aug. 20 in New Zealand and Australia.
• Today in history… Hadrian, who became emperor a year previously on Trajan's death, makes his entry into Rome (118). King Henry VIII of England annuls his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves (1540). Catherine the Great becomes Empress of Russia following the coup against her husband, Peter III (1762). George Washington orders the Declaration of Independence to be read out to members of the Continental Army in Manhattan, while thousands of British troops on Staten Island prepare for the Battle of Long Island (1776). Financier James Swan pays off the $2,024,899 US national debt that had been accrued during the American Revolution (1795). Argentina declares independence from Spain (1816). U.S. President Zachary Taylor dies after eating raw fruit and iced milk; he is succeeded in office by Vice President Millard Fillmore (1850). The Siege of Port Hudson ends, giving the Union complete control of the Mississippi River (1863). The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law (1868). The inaugural Wimbledon Championships begins (1877). Johnny Weissmuller swims the 100 meters freestyle in 58.6 seconds breaking the world swimming record and the 'minute barrier’ (1922). American forces take Saipan, bringing the Japanese archipelago within range of B-29 raids, and causing the downfall of the Tojo government (1944). The New Zealand Parliament passes the Homosexual Law Reform Act legalizing homosexuality in New Zealand (1986). The Senate Report on Iraqi WMD Intelligence is released by the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, casting doubt on the rationale for the Iraq War (2004).
• July 8 is the birthday of Holy Roman emperor Ferdinand II (1578), writer Ann Radcliffe (1764), UK prime minister Edward Heath (1916), singer-songwriter Lee Hazlewood (1929), US secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld (1932), actor Brian Dennehey (1938), author Dean Koontz (1945), NFL player/actor/accused murderer O. J. Simpson (1947), TV host/composer John Tesh (1952), politician Lindsey Graham (1955), actor Tom Hanks (1956), singer-songwriter Jim Kerr (1959), singer-songwriter Courtney Love (1964), software developer Marc Andreessen (1971), and singer-songwriter Jack White (1975).

Okay, well… that’s all I’ve got. I want to eat a bagel. I’m going to eat a bagel. That’s my plan. Enjoy your day.