Random News: August 13, 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 August 13, 2023, and it’s a Sunday. I’ve got a family responsibility to handle early today, and while I’m none too excited to sacrifice my Sunday, it’s something that needs to get done and I’m mostly glad to deal with it earlier in the day than later. Since I’m pressed for time, let’s at least do a short batch of news…

• Some concrete evidence of progress is happening in the Fulton County, GA District Attorney Fani T. Willis case against against more than a dozen individuals who tried to subvert the free and fair election process in the state. She is expected to begin presenting her case before a grand jury early next week.
• Geoff Duncan, the former lieutenant governor of Georgia who was subpoenaed as a potential witness, confirmed yesterday that he will give closed-door testimony to a grand jury on Tuesday. George Chidi, an independent journalist, was also given notice to appear before the grand jury the same day.
• The high-profile investigation is widely expected to result in multiple charges for several defendants — including Trump.
• And then this morning, it’s being reported that Fani Willis and her team are in possession of text messages and emails directly connecting members of Donald Trump’s legal team to the early January 2021 voting system breach in Coffee County.
• Wow.
• It’s Sunday Gunday, where we look at some of the shootings over the last couple of days in the USA.
• One dead, six others shot at a mass shooting at a backyard punk rock show in Minneapolis. Two killed on a playground in Philadelphia. Two killed at a vape shop in Shreveport, LA. One dead, two more shot in Louisville. One killed, one shot leaving a Brooklyn house party. One dead, two more shot in Houston (including a pregnant woman). One dead, one shot in DC. One dead, one shot in Vancouver, WA. One killed in Indianapolis. One dead, two injured in three different shootings in Savannah, GA. Two shot in Memphis. One woman shot in San Antonio. A three-year-old accidentally shot in Wayne County, SC. A man shot at a trampoline park in Baltimore. A teen in critical condition after being shot in Antioch, CA. One dead in Toledo, OH, Four shot in Grand Rapids, MI. One in Cincinnati. 
• That’s not all of them. Those are the few I noted during a quick scroll through the news.
• We’ve got to get better.
• Moving on.
• Here’s an ironic one…
• In defending themselves against a lawsuit, Texas officials have argued that an “unborn child” may not have rights under the US constitution.
• Wait, what’s that, Texas?
• A guard at the state prison in the community of Abilene filed the lawsuit in question after she asserted that her superiors barred her from going to the hospital while she experienced intense labor pains and what she suspected were contractions while seven months pregnant and on duty.
• She ultimately delivered the baby in a stillbirth. The lawsuit claims that if Issa had been able to get to the hospital sooner, the baby would have survived. They seek restitution in medical and funeral costs and for pain and suffering.
• But the state of Texas argued that they should not be held responsible for the stillbirth because it is not clear the fetus had rights as a person.
• Isn’t that literally your entire justification for enforcing abortion bans? Fucking pricks.
• And now, The Weather: “Waving To My Girl” by Winten
• Florida is a state that’s used to being warm, but it’s seldom endured a summer of such extreme, persistent and humid heat until now. This hot weather, remarkable for its duration and intensity, has the state on pace for its warmest year on record.
• Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Daytona Beach and Tallahassee are all experiencing their hottest August on record so far.
• Sigh.
• Let’s do a cool story.
• California wildlife officials say they've confirmed a new gray wolf pack in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains. The pack was found in Tulare County — the farthest south a pack of wolves has been detected in the state in more than a century.
• The analysis found the new pack has at least five female wolves not previously detected in California. Hopefully those majestic original doggos survive and thrive.
• For today’s charts, we’re in August 1965. I did not exist at that time. Where was I before I was born? The same place I’ll be after I’m dead. Anyway, this is a good chart.
• 1. I Got You Babe (Sonny & Cher). 2.(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones). 3. Save Your Heart For Me (Gary Lewis And The Playboys). 4. I'm Henry VIII, I Am (Herman's Hermits). 5. What's New Pussycat? (Tom Jones). 6. Unchained Melody (The Righteous Brothers). 7. It's The Same Old Song (Four Tops). 8. Don't Just Stand There (Patty Duke). 9. California Girls (The Beach Boys). 10. Down In The Boondocks (Billy Joe Royal). 11. I Want Candy (The Strangeloves). 12. Baby, I'm Yours (Barbara Lewis). 13. I Like It Like That (The Dave Clark Five). 14. Help! (The Beatles). 15. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me (Mel Carter). 16. Take Me Back (Little Anthony And The Imperials). 17. I'm A Fool (Dino, Desi & Billy). 18. All I Really Want To Do (Cher). 19. Cara, Mia (Jay & The Americans). 20. Papa's Got A Brand New Bag (Part I) (James Brown And The Famous Flames)
• From the Sports Desk… I will not start reporting NFL preseason scores. I will not start reporting NFL preseason game scores. Writes this a thousand times.
• Instead, here’s the leading MLB teams and their current record from each division.
• AL East: Baltimore Orioles (72-45). AL Central: Minnesota Twins (61-58). AL West: Texas Rangers (70-47).  NL East: Atlanta Braves (75-41). NL Central: Milwaukee Brewers (64-54). NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers (70-46).
• Today in history… Octavian holds a triumph in Rome for the victory over Dalmatian tribes (29 BC). Maurice becomes Emperor of the Byzantine Empire (582). Cortés conquers Tenochtitlan after a long siege (1521). Buddhist monks from Kyoto burn down the temples (1536). Louis XIII appoints Richelieu as Prime Minister (1624). Louis XVI is arrested as an enemy of the people (1792). Massive 8.5-9.0 earthquake strikes Peru, killing 25,000+ and creating a massive tsunami (1868). Norway ends its union with Sweden (1905). Women enlist in the US Marine Corps, with the first female Marine being Opha May Johnson (1918). A public company is established in Germany called Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, later shortened to BMW (1918). Construction of facilities for the "Development of Substitute Materials" project, better known as the Manhattan Project, begins (1942). Apollo 11 astronauts get a ticker tape parade in NYC and are given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Nixon that night in Los Angeles (1969). Israel–United Arab Emirates relations are formally established (2020).
• August 13 is the birthday of physicist Anders Jonas Ångström (1814), abolitionist/suffragist Lucy Stone (1818), activist Leonora Barry (1849), target shooter Annie Oakley (1860), engineer John Logie Baird (1888), actor Bert Lahr (1895), director Alfred Hitchcock (1899), engineer Felix Wankel (1902), golfer Ben Hogan (1912), politician Fidel Castro (1926), singer/ukulele player Don Ho (1930), admiral/physician Joycelyn Elders (1933), NHL player Bobby Clarke (1949), singer-songwriter/guitarist Dan Fogelberg (1951), photographer Herb Ritts (1952), actor Danny Bonaduce (1959), CIA agent Valerie Plame (1963), figure skater Midori Ito (1969), NHL player Marty Turco (1975), politician Sarah Huckabee Sanders (1982), actor Sebastian Stan (1982), and NBA player DeMarcus Cousins (1990).

That’s it for now. Wish me luck, cause I’ve got shit to do. Enjoy your day.