Random News: October 14, 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 morn- um, good afternoon. It’s October 14, 2023, and it’s a Saturday. I just experienced a partial solar eclipse, and I’m feeling at one with the universe. Time to drag my ass back down into the earthly muck and do some news…

• And yes, this morning was an annular solar eclipse. The path of totality started near Eugene, OR on the west coast at about 9:20AM PT, and made its way southeast down through San Antonio, Texas about a half hour later.
• Here in Southern California, our light level dropped by about 70% and it was still fun to be suddenly aware that I was standing on some random planet in a backwoods solar system here in the Milky Way for a moment.
• That’s all. What’s happening on this planet?
• Beep beep! Hey kids, it’s the House of Representatives clown car, here to pick you up for yet another wacky ride called “We Need a Speaker”!
• Yesterday was more fun and games in Congress when House Republicans nominated Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) for Speaker, their second attempt to find a candidate who can win the gavel on the House floor after Steve Scalise dropped out from seeking the role.
• Jordan, a far right conservative and 2020 election denier, earned 124 votes to win the nomination over Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA). Scott had mounted a last-minute bid for Speaker that was largely seen as a protest to Jordan’s candidacy.
• But hold your horses there… a second vote late yesterday asking members if they would support Jordan as the nominee came in at 152-55, still far short of the 217 he needs to clinch the gavel.
• Sometime next week, Jordan will go up against the Dems’ choice, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on the House floor — if Jordan secures enough support. Which he seemingly can’t.
• Jordan has never served in a House leadership position. In his 16 years in Congress, he hasn’t had a single bill pass. And as a reminder, with the razor-thin majority, he can only have four Republicans vote against him if he wants to win… and far more than that have sworn they would never accept him as Speaker.
• Now do you see why every single House seat is important? That’s why in election years, I’m very specific about what candidates have chances to win in districts all over the country. They all matter, every one.
• Meanwhile, until they resolve their shenanigans, we have no Speaker of the House… the person second in line to the Presidency. My suggestion remains simple: get five Republicans to vote for Jeffries and get on with business.
• Anyway, instead of bringing their pointless vote to the floor and seeing Jordan lose, they just called it a day on Friday and went home for the weekend.
• Jordan may well end up being elected Speaker… and if so, the GOP will be even more certain to be obliterated in the 2024 House elections.
• Let’s get to some world news.
• As was expected, Israel is taking severe vengeance on Gaza. Since the evacuation order was issued yesterday, Israeli military airstrikes have killed 70 evacuees and injured 200 more, per the terrorist organization Hamas.
• More than two million Palestinians – including over a million children – live in the 140-square-mile Gaza Strip, one of the most densely populated places on Earth.
• There’s been a mass rush toward the south of the area. All roads were jammed with people crammed into cars, taxis, pickup trucks and even donkey-pulled carts. 
• Some have remained where they are, feeling that nowhere was safe. They may be right.
• In retaliation, nine Hamas hostages have been killed due to the Israeli airstrikes in the last 24 hours. Hamas said four foreign captives were among those killed, and they previously said it would kill one Israeli civilian every time Israel targeted Gaza with airstrikes.
• War sucks. It always has, and always will.
• I want to remind you of something super important. You can be supportive of Israel and still not want civilians in Gaza to die or have their lives destroyed. You can sympathize with Palestinian people and still condemn the actions of Hamas as an evil terrorist group.
• This isn’t a fucking football game where you pick a team and want them to win at all costs.
• Before you participate with a protest group or start making sweeping statements on social media, maybe think that war affects people who had nothing to do with its causes.
• And people of all nationalities and races and ethnicity and religions have friends and families and aren’t nearly as different for you as you may think.
• Okay. Moving on for now.
• Today is primary voting day in Louisiana. Voters across the state will cast ballots on dozens of races, including governor, attorney general and treasurer.
• I assume you Louisianan folks are voting and know who to vote for. I endorse the Democratic candidates in your fine state. Polls are open until 8PM local time, and have your ID with you when you go to vote.
• Moving on… to a super weird story in Arkansas, where Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) is facing scrutiny after a public records request revealed her office bought a $19,000 lectern. A whistleblower has accused her office of covering up the spending.
• What started with raised eyebrows over a hefty price tag has given rise to questions about the state’s handling of public information requests. Now, a Republican legislative panel will audit the lectern purchase, as well as how Sanders’s office handles open-records requests.
• And no one can offer any understandable reason why a small lectern came with a supposed $19,029.25 price tag, with a payment to Beckett Events LLC, a Virginia-based events company founded by a Republican political consultant and lobbyist.
• Guess we’ll see? Moving on.
• Some great news on the labor front yesterday as Kaiser Permanente and a coalition of unions reached a tentative deal, ending the largest healthcare labor dispute in U.S. history.
• The new contract culminated in raises that will amount to 21% in wage increases over the next four years to help retain current workers.
• Both sides credited the involvement of acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su, who was there in person when the final version was hammered out in San Francisco.
• Awesome.
• Let’s talk Supreme Court. There are things you really need to stay aware about.
• The SCOTUS indicated yesterday that in January, it plans to take on a critical question about the power of federal government agencies to interpret their own legal authority.
• They had already agreed to hear one case this term challenging a legal doctrine, known as Chevron deference, that gives federal agencies substantial latitude to decide what power Congress gave them.
• Yesterday, the high court added a second case on that issue to its docket and signaled that both will be argued in January.
• The Chevron deference is opposed by conservative legal activists, who view the doctrine as aggrandizing federal bureaucrats.
• Backers of the doctrine say agencies have the special expertise necessary to understand the application of highly technical laws in heavily regulated industries. I agree.
• And now, The Weather: “Lonely Girls, in Omaha” by Lomelda, More Eaze, Anna McClellan
• Got a chart for you. It’s October 1984, but these are the bottom rungs of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Coolest new chart entry on this list: probably “Hot for Teacher”. Fun fact: there are THREE songs in this range that use the phrase "In The Name Of Love” in the title. Weird!
• 81. All I Need (Jack Wagner). 82. On The Wings Of A Nightingale (The Everly Brothers). 83. Hot For Teacher (Van Halen). 84. Torture (The Jacksons). 85. (Pride) In The Name Of Love (U2). 86. Satisfied Man (Molly Hatchet). 87. Sex Shooter (Apollonia 6). 88. Jungle Love (The Time). 89. The Belle Of St. Mark (Sheila E.). 90. Shine Shine (Barry Gibb). 91. Dynamite (Jermaine Jackson). 92. The Last Time I Made Love (Joyce Kennedy & Jeffrey Osborne). 93. We're Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister). 94. Stuck On You (Lionel Richie). 95. Ghostbusters (Ray Parker Jr.). 96. Sunglasses At Night (Corey Hart). 97. (what) In The Name Of Love (Naked Eyes). 98. In The Name Of Love (Ralph MacDonald With Bill Withers). 99. High Energy (Evelyn Thomas). 100. If Ever You're In My Arms Again (Peabo Bryson).
• From the Sports Desk… hmm. How about some NFL tips for tomorrow’s games?
• The biggest point spreads: Bills (-15) over Giants; Dolphins (-14.5) over Panthers; 49ers (-10) over Browns.
• Closer games to watch that might matter in some way to someone: Bengals (-3) vs Seahawks, Jaguars (-3.5) vs Colts, Lions (-3) vs Bucs, and Cowboys (-1.5) vs Chargers.
• Today in history… The Norman conquest of England begins with the Battle of Hastings (1066). Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England — my 22nd great-grandfather — forcing Edward to accept Scotland's independence (1322). The First Continental Congress denounces the British Parliament's Intolerable Acts and demands British concessions (1774). George Eastman receives a U.S. Government patent on his new paper-strip photographic film (1884). The Chicago Cubs defeat the Detroit Tigers, 2–0, clinching the 1908 World Series; this would be their last until winning the 2016 World Series (1908). Theodore Roosevelt is shot and wounded but still delivers his scheduled speech (1912). Prisoners at Sobibor extermination camp covertly assassinate most of the on-duty SS officers and then stage a mass breakout (1943). Chuck Yeager becomes the first person to exceed the speed of sound (1947). Martin Luther King Jr. receives the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence (1964). The first live television broadcast by American astronauts in orbit is performed by the Apollo 7 crew (1968). Jim Hines becomes the first man ever to break the so-called "ten-second barrier" in the 100-meter sprint with a time of 9.95 seconds (1968). The first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights draws approximately 100,000 people (1979). U.S. President Ronald Reagan proclaims a War on Drugs (1982). Eric Rudolph is charged with six bombings, including the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta, Georgia (1998). The Steve Bartman Incident takes place at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois (2003). Felix Baumgartner successfully jumps to Earth from a balloon in the stratosphere (2012). About 10,000 American employees of John Deere go on strike (2021).
• October 14 is the birthday of businessman William Penn (1644), UK prime minister George Grenville (1712), US president Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890), actress Lillian Gish (1893), poet E. E. Cummings (1894), basketball coach John Wooden (1910), Surgeon General C. Everett Koop (1916), actor Roger Moore (1927), lawyer John Dean (1938), fashion designer Ralph Lauren (1939), actor Harry Anderson (1952), singer-songwriter/producer Thomas Dolby (1958), fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi (1961), actress Lori Petty (1973), police brutality victim George Floyd (1973), singer-songwriter Usher (1978), and NFL player Jared Goff (1994).

Okay. That’s all. Enjoy your day.