Random News: October 8, 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 October 8, 2023, and it’s a Sunday. It’s extremely quiet here right now, something that is rare and appreciated. I’m in my robe and my coffee is delicious, so let’s take a look at things that have happened…

• There are no circumstances in which any country going to war is a good thing for the people of this planet.
• That being said, you can’t blame Israel for their declaration of war against Hamas after getting attacked by a barrage of rockets and militants gunning down dozens on the Gaza Strip. Israel’s national rescue service said at least 500 people were killed and 2,000 wounded, making it the deadliest attack in Israel in decades, and potentially the worst in the country’s 75-year history.
• Hamas fighters also took an unknown number of civilians and soldiers captive into Gaza, a deeply sensitive issue for Israel. Israel is working to free those hostages.
• Israel said about 2,200 rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip into Israel, while armed terror groups infiltrated into Israel by land, sea and air – in paragliders.
• Israel immediately retaliated with airstrikes in which hundreds of people in the Gaza Strip have been killed and at thousands wounded. Israel did not say where the deaths occurred or whether the toll included Hamas militants or civilians in Gaza.
• By day’s end yesterday, United Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines had all announced that they have temporarily suspended flights to and from Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv.
• The full scale of the Israeli response remains unclear, but it’s been postulated that the country may try to take full control of Gaza for the first time since 2005.
• What’s next? Well, much of the world seems united in support of Israel and in condemnation of Hamas. The US has committed to send additional aid to our ally (more on that in a second).
• I feel compelled to circle back around to the Israel conflict and our own little battle in the US House of Representatives.
• The U.S.’s role in the aftermath of Saturday’s surprise attack by Hamas against Israel is complicated by the lack of a permanent House leader. Acting Speaker Patrick McHenry (R-NC) has limited abilities in his role as Speaker pro tempore, a role only meant to facilitate the selection of a new Speaker.
• Now lawmakers aren’t sure if McHenry can participate in intelligence briefings. Members of Congress are working to determine if he will be included in the “Gang of Eight” briefings with other heads of both chambers and parties.
• Apparently the White House would need to confirm whether McHenry would receive clearance to be part of the discussion.
• But without a speaker in place, the House cannot pass emergency aid for Israel, or take other similar measures. So if Israel suffers as a result, just send your thanks to Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and his cabal who needlessly kicked out Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from that role last week.
• Otherwise, help would already be on the way. And some would postulate that the timing of the Hamas attack seems pretty amazingly coincidental, just days after Gaetz placed the USA in a position to delay our assistance.
• Enough on that for now. It’s a fluid situation and will likely change quickly.
• So let’s move on… due east to Afghanistan, where over 2,000 people have died after a powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the region. western Afghanistan, the Taliban said Sunday, as the nation reels from another quake at a time of deep economic crisis.
• Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mojahid put the number killed at 2,053 people, with more 1,240 people hurt and 1,320 houses completely or partially destroyed. That toll will certainly rise further.
• This is not a happy news day, and we haven’t even started on the shootings yet. Might as well get that rolling, he said, not really wanting to.
• Sunday is Gunday at Zak’s Random News, where we take a short look at just some of the gun violence in the USA over the past couple of days.
• Two dead and three wounded in a shooting at a parking lot in Inglewood, CA. A 22-year-old dead and nine others injured in a shooting near Indiana University of Pennsylvania. A woman killed in Pine Hills, FL. Three shot and four others injured in downtown St. Petersburg, FL. One dead after being killed by a co-worker at a Wendy’s in Charlotte, NC. One dead after a shooting at a bar in Memphis, TN. One dead after a shooting in Fort Wayne, IN. One dead in a. shooting in St. Louis, MO. Eight shot early this morning in downtown Chicago, IL. Three shot in a car by another driver on northbound Hwy. 51 near Wausau, WI. Two shot on the campus of Bowie State University in Bowie, MD. One shot inside a Dollar General in Raleigh, NC. Two more shot at a hookah lounge near NC State's campus in Raleigh, NC. One shot in Winston-Salem, NC. Another in East Charlotte, NC. One shot and in critical condition in Minneapolis, MN. A 20-year-old in critical condition after a shooting Lafayette, LA. One man shot in Jacksonville, FL. One shot in Louisville, KY. A woman caught in the crossfire and shot in Lexington, KY. A 19-year-old shot in Swanton. VT. A 13-year-old girl shot in the Fern Rock area of Philadelphia, PA. 
• A reminder: these are just some of the shootings from this weekend that I noticed in a few minutes of scrolling. There were many more, and this is a very typical amount of gun violence incidents in the USA on any given weekend.
• When you continue to vote for candidates who won’t support common sense gun control measures, this is what you will get, and it will never stop, and it will directly affect you and your family eventually.
• Tomorrow is Columbus Day, which is still a federal holiday. I realize it’s thought of as important in some areas of the USA, but here in California, it’s barely notable, and certainly isn’t a day off work.
• We dropped it as a holiday in 2009, as did Delaware. It’s not an official holiday in Oregon or Washington either. Maine, New Mexico, Vermont, and D.C. renamed the day Indigenous Peoples' Day in 2019.
• My suggestion? Pick another way and another day to celebrate Italian-American pride, if you want. Stop attaching it to Christopher Columbus, whose actions against the indigenous populations of the Americas were abhorrent.
• One other note about this holiday. It celebrates Columbus’s arrival at Guanahaní, an island in the Bahamas, on October 12, 1492. It has nothing to do with America. Stop pretending it does. 
• And now, The Weather: “Sleepyhead” by Mickey Newball
• If you’re feeling lucky, Powerball's massive jackpot will rollover and increase after Saturday's drawing produced no winning tickets.
• The $1.4-billion jackpot now grows to $1.55 billion but remains the third-largest in Powerball's history (the second largest was $1.586 billion in 2016).
• And once again, I’ll tell you that you have a FAR greater chance of being struck by lightning than winning this prize, but if you enjoy playing, go ahead and do so.
• From the Sports Desk… the MLB Divisional Series produced all manner of surprises in the first game, with three of the four series starting with a win for the underdog.
• The Rangers (5) beat the Orioles (1) 3-2, the Phillies (4) shut out the Braves (1) 3-0, and the D-backs (6) annihilated the Dodgers (2) 11-2. Fascinating. The only expected win was the Astros (2) over the Twins (3).
• Today in history… The Confederate invasion of Kentucky is halted at the Battle of Perryville (1862). Korean Empress Myeongseong is assassinated by Japanese infiltrators (1895). Corporal Alvin C. York kills 28 German soldiers and captures 132 for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor in WWI (1918). The New York Yankees's Don Larsen pitches the only perfect game in a World Series (1956). Guerrilla leader Che Guevara and his men are captured in Bolivia (1967). Australia's Ken Warby sets the current world water speed record of 275.97 knots (1978). ‘Cats’ opens on Broadway and runs for nearly 18 years before closing on September 10, 2000 (1982). U.S. President George W. Bush announces the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security (2001). 
• October 8 is the birthday of composer Heinrich Schütz (1585), activist Harriet Taylor Mill (1807), chemist/engineer Mary Engle Pennington (1872), Albanian prime minister/president/king  Zog I (1895), Argentine president Juan Perón (1895), author Frank Herbert (1920), saxophonist/composer Pepper Adams (1930), journalist Rona Barrett (1936), actor Paul Hogan (1939), politician/activist Jesse Jackson (1941), actor Chevy Chase (1943), author R. L. Stine (1943), actress Sigourney Weaver (1949), singer-songwriter/bass player Robert “Kool” Bell (1950), singer-songwriter CeCe Winans (1964), singer-songwroter/producer Teddy Riley (1967), actor Matt Damon (1970), politician Sadiq Khan (1970), singer-songwriter Bruno Mars (1985), and actress Bella Thorne (1997).

Well, the world is in turmoil. It often is. I’m going to do what I can to make it better in small ways. If we all do that, well… nothing but good happens as a result. Enjoy your day.