Random News: September 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 September 27, 2023, and it’s a Wednesday. A whole lot of crazy-ass shit has happened, and most of it is pretty important, so buckle up. Maybe get a fresh cup of coffee or a delicious beverage; we have a lot to tell you. Ready? Let’s go.

• Yesterday was a very bad, not good, sad, and not glad day for Donald John Trump and his businesses.
• New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that Donald Trump and his company "repeatedly" violated state fraud law. It’s a big deal.
• The ruling came in response to a request by New York Attorney General Letitia James seeking judgment on one of the claims in her $250 million civil lawsuit, which is scheduled to go to trial  next week on October 2. The judge agreed with James' office that it is beyond dispute that Trump and his company provided banks with financial statements that misrepresented his wealth by as much as $3.6 billion.
• Some of the lies were every bit as ridiculous and outrageous and provably wrong as you’d expect from Dumpelstiltskin, like his penthouse apartment at Trump Tower in New York, which he claimed was 30,000 sq ft, nearly three times its actual size, resulting in an overvaluation of as much as $207m.
• As punishment, some of Trump’s business licenses will be rescinded, making it difficult or impossible for them to do business in New York, and an independent monitor will continue to oversee Trump Organization operations.
• Judge Engoron ordered that within 10 days, they must recommend potential independent receivers to manage the dissolution of the canceled LLCs.
• This goes far beyond the fairly common knowledge that Trump has lied consistently about his wealth. It states that he, his company and key executives repeatedly falsified information on his annual financial statements, reaping rewards such as favorable loan terms and lower insurance costs. That’s straight up illegal, and now it’s time to pay the price.
• And… fuck him. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Engoron also ruled yesterday on a separate motion for sanctions against Trump's legal team for repeatedly making arguments Engoron and other courts had already rejected, fining five attorneys $7,500 each.
• Moving on.
• While that was going on yesterday, President Joe Biden joined the ongoing labor strike by the United Auto Workers (UAW) in Michigan. Wearing a ball cap and wielding a bullhorn, Biden marked a first-of-its kind moment for a sitting president.
• Michigan, along with Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio, is a key state that could help determine who next takes the White House. It’s also one that Democrats blew in 2016, and they’re going to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
• “You deserve a hell of a lot more than what you’re getting paid now,” Biden told cheering union workers while standing alongside UAW President Shawn Fain.
• Fuck yeah. Let’s go Biden!
• Do we have more good news? We do!
• A federal judge yesterday struck down a Texas law that LGBTQ advocates feared would ban drag shows in the state and imprison performers.
• The law, which Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed in June, expanded existing state law to prevent children from exposure to sexually explicit performances. While the legislation, Senate Bill 12, does not cite drag specifically, drag performers feared that it was passed with the intention of criminalizing the art form, which has deep ties to the LGBTQ community, and would that it repress their freedom of expression. 
• On the day Abbott signed the bill into law, he shared an article about it and wrote, “Texas Governor Signs Law Banning Drag Performances in Public. That’s right.” 
• But U.S. District Judge David Hittner, a Reagan appointee, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, writing that the law “impermissibly infringes on the First Amendment and chills free speech.”
• I like his statement: “Not all people will like or condone certain performances. This is no different than a person’s opinion on certain comedy or genres of music, but that alone does not strip First Amendment protection.”
• You’re goddamn right. Good job, sir.
• Speaking of states, my state, California, did something smart yesterday: they made gun and ammunition ownership a lot more expensive.
• Governor Gavin Newsom signed several firearms and ammunition-related bills into law yesterday, including one to tax guns and ammunition and another that places more rules on people seeking a concealed carry weapons permit.
• The federal government already taxes the sale of guns and ammunition at either 10% or 11%, depending on the type of gun. With the signing of AB 28 on Tuesday, California will now add an 11% excise tax on the purchase of guns and ammunition. This makes California the only state with a separate tax on guns and ammunition, and I couldn’t be more proud to be a Californian.
• The money will pay for security improvements at public schools and a variety of gun violence prevention programs, including those geared toward young people in gangs.
• Moving on… to the pending government shutdown.
• Senators in both parties have lost confidence in Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) ability to move a stopgap funding measure through the House and hope to avoid a disaster by moving first.
• They grabbed the steering wheel from him yesterday by advancing a stopgap bill to keep federal funding at current levels until November 17. The legislation would also provide $6.15 billion in new money for Ukraine and $6 billion in new money for disaster relief.
• The Senate plan is to pass the continuing resolution by Thursday or Friday and send it over to the House before government funding technically expires at 11:59 p.m. Saturday.
• If the shutdown happens anyway per the plan of the far-right faction of the House, the first place most Americans are going to feel it will be at the airport. That's because this Saturday looms not only as the deadline for Congress to avert a shutdown but also to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
• The shutdown could lead to flight delays for travelers and cargo shipments, as well as longer and slower screening lines, much less setbacks for future-focused efforts like training air traffic controllers and modernization initiatives.
• In some international news that we couldn’t quite believe when we first heard, Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons Anthony Rota resigned his post yesterday, days after he praised a Ukrainian veteran who fought for a Nazi military unit during World War II.
• On Friday, Rota lauded Yaroslav Hunka, 98, as a Ukrainian-Canadian war hero who “fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russian aggressors then, and continues to support the troops today.”
• But then, human rights and Jewish organizations have condemned Rota’s recognition, saying Hunka served in a Nazi military unit known as the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS.
• That’s the kind of thing you want to know before you throw a party for a guy. Jesus.
• Moving on…
• Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general filed a widely anticipated antitrust case against Amazon, alleging the retailing giant illegally wields monopoly power to maintain higher prices, harming customers and weakening competition.
• FTC chair Linda Khan stated, ”Our complaint lays out how Amazon has used a set of punitive and coercive tactics to unlawfully maintain its monopolies. The complaint sets forth detailed allegations noting how Amazon is now exploiting its monopoly power to enrich itself while raising prices and degrading service for the tens of millions of American families who shop on its platform and the hundreds of thousands of businesses that rely on Amazon to reach them."
• The complaint alleges that Amazon regularly exploits its size and reach to block lower prices and compel merchants to use the e-commerce company's logistics and advertising services. I’d say that’s accurate.
• In very unimportant and irrelevant news, tonight is the second GOP presidential debate, this one being staged in the conservative enclave of Simi Valley, CA. The Republican National Committee has confirmed the names of seven presidential candidates who will participate.
• They are: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, tech geek Vivek Ramaswamy, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.
• Donnie the Felon will not be there. He simply doesn’t do well in debates, and he is leading all of the other GOP candidates by a lot. They, obviously, are hopeful that events may transpire in which El Dumpo will not be able to run for president, or will be otherwise unavailable to serve (like, from being in jail, or fighting extradition from a foreign country, or no longer being among the living, and so on).
• We’ve got some bad cop news to share. I wish we didn’t.
• A Philadelphia municipal court judge yesterday dismissed all charges, including murder, against the Philadelphia police officer who fatally shot 27-year-old Eddie Irizarry during a traffic stop last month.
• Officer Mark Dial had been charged with murder, voluntary manslaughter and five other counts stemming from the August 14 shooting in Philadelphia. The case was notable in that police initially told reporters Irizarry “lunged at the officers” while outside his vehicle, only to later admit that video disproved that assertion.
• The preliminary court hearing Tuesday featured police body-camera footage and surveillance video of the shooting, as well as testimony from Dial’s police partner and from a detective with the officer-involved shootings department.
• Judge Wendy L. Pew said that she agreed “100%” with the defense and dismissed the charges. No trial, no jury, no nothing.
• In other law enforcement news… meet Kenneth Malphurs. 
• Back in April 2021, Malphurs, a Wakulla County, FL sheriff’s deputy who worked as a school resource officer, sexually assaulted a victim under 12 years old.
• He was finally arrested a week ago Monday, on September 18, 2023, after spending about a year and a half on administrative leave. Malphurs was transported to the Wakulla County Jail where he is currently being held without bond, and finally got fired from his job.
• I should note that Malphurs is a manly man. Not a drag queen. Not a transgender person who needs to use a bathroom. He’s a big, strong, cop, the kind of alpha male that the MAGA community reveres. And now he faces life in prison for sexually abusing a little kid.
• Malphurs pleaded not guilty. How many other Malphurs are out there, waving flags and being patriotic and remaining in positions of authority?
• Moving on.
• This one is super weird. Police in Baltimore are investigating the death of Pava LaPere, a 26-year-old CEO whose career accomplishments earned her a spot among the Forbes’ “30 under 30” list.
• The founder of EcoMap Technologies was found dead Monday morning in an apartment with apparent signs of “blunt-force trauma.” LaPere, a Johns Hopkins grad, had clients including The Aspen Institute, Meta, the WXR Fund and T. Rowe Price Foundation.
• Fucking awful. Seems kinda dangerous being a tech CEO in recent years, huh? I doubt this incident is random violence.
• Moooooving on… to Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who appeared in federal court in New York this morning for his initial appearance on charges relating to an alleged bribery conspiracy involving payments in gold bars, hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, a luxury car and passing sensitive information to the Egyptian government.
• More and more Democrats are publicly calling for Menendez to resign, but it doesn’t seem he’s going to take the high road.
• In other news, Travis King, the 23-year-old U.S. Army private who intentionally ran across the border into North Korea this summer, is back in U.S. custody today.
• This young idiot said he ran into North Korean territory in July because “he was disillusioned about inhumane treatment and racial discrimination” in the Army, as well as the "inequality existing within the American Society.” That might all be true, but escaping into North Korea wasn’t the best plan. Glad he’s safe, but he’s got some ‘splaining to do. 
• And now, The Weather: “softscars” by yeule
• From the Sports Desk… RIP to the best defensive third baseman of all time, hall of famer Brooks Robinson. He passed away yesterday at age 86.
• How good was Robinson? He was an all-star for 15 seasons and won the Gold Glove award as the top fielder at his position 16 years in a row. He still holds the record for most games played at third base (2,870) and despite retiring in 1977, is still MLB’s all-time leader by a mile for most putouts, assists, and double plays at his position.
• Also from the Sports Desk… after three weeks, only three NFL teams remain undefeated at 3-0: the Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers, and Philadelphia Eagles.
• Four teams — the Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, and Denver Broncos — are winless at 0-3.
• Everyone else is somewhere in between… and this coming week of matchups won’t be helpful, with point spreads on nearly all of the games within a field goal. Yikes!
• Today in history… William the Conqueror begins the Norman conquest of England (1066). The death of Pope Urban VII, 13 days after being chosen as the Pope, ends the shortest papal reign in history (1590). Lancaster, PA becomes the capital of the United States for one day after Congress evacuates Philadelphia (1777). The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, the Stockton and Darlington Railway, is ceremonially opened (1825). Production of the Model T automobile begins at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit (1908). The Republic of China is recognized by the United States (1928). USAF Captain Milburn G. Apt becomes the first person to exceed Mach 3 but dies in the attempt shortly after (1956). Rachel Carson's book ‘Silent Spring’ is published, inspiring an environmental movement and the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1962). Over two million people participated in worldwide strikes to protest climate change across 2,400 locations worldwide (2019).
• September 27 is the birthday of Florence ruler Cosimo de' Medici (1389), king Louis XIII of France (1601), philosopher/politician Samuel Adams (1722), chemist Hermann Kolbe (1818), cartoonist Thomas Nast (1840), magician Harry Blackstone, Sr. (1885), pianist/composer Bud Powell (1924), sportscaster Dick Schaap (1934), TV host Don Cornelius (1936), singer-songwriter/guitarist Randy Bachman (1943), singer-songwriter/actor Meat Loaf (1947), musician/songwriter Greg Ham (1953), actor/singer Shaun Cassidy (1958), radio host Marc Maron (1963), NBA player/coach Steve Kerr (1965), politician Debbie Wasserman Schultz (1966), actress Gwyneth Paltrow (1972), singer-songwriter/guitarist/actress Carrie Brownstein (1974), rapper Lil Wayne (1982), singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne (1984), and actress Jenna Ortega (2002).

Well by gum, that was a lot of news. Some days be like that. I’ve got a bunch of writing to do, among other work-type responsibilities. That’s okay. Enjoy your day.