Random News: November 15, 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 November 15, 2023, and it’s a Wednesday. Buckle up kids, because we’ve got a lot of news today, and I’m gonna put the news pedal to the news metal. Let’s go.

• Some reasonably good news… the House passed their funding bill to avert a government shutdown for the time being. It passed on a bipartisan basis by a vote of 336 to 95 – with 209 of the votes coming from Democrats.
• The bill was opposed by 93 right-wing Republicans and two Democrats. 
• The Democrats were Reps. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) and Mike Quigley (D-IL). Both are from districts with high Ukrainian populations, which is a problem as you’ll see below.
• The Senate needs to approve the measure before Friday, which they’re expected to do. President Biden will sign the CR (continuing resolution funding bill) as soon as it hits his desk.
• The two-step plan extends funding until January 19 for priorities including military construction, Veterans Affairs, transportation, housing and the Energy Department. The rest of the government — anything not covered by the first step — would be funded until February 2.
• It’s not perfect by any means. For example, the bill does not include additional aid for Israel or Ukraine.
• But it is way better than the shutdown that would have been devastating over the quickly-approaching holidays. You want to fly the kids to Grandma’s house with the air traffic controllers not being paid? I didn’t think so, and neither did most of Congress.
• Also, House Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and the other Democratic leaders stated, “House Democrats have repeatedly articulated that any continuing resolution must be set at the fiscal year 2023 spending level, be devoid of harmful cuts and free of extreme right-wing policy riders. The continuing resolution before the House today meets that criteria and we will support it.”
• So that’s encouraging.
• There was some other news from the Capitol long before yesterday’s funding vote.
• There were not one, not two, but three separate incidents of violence or extreme aggression in Washington, D.C. yesterday morning. No, not out in the streets. In the Capitol. By members of Congress.
• It started in the House, when former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) got physical with one of the far-right conservative lawmakers who voted to oust him last month.
• Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) accused McCarthy of elbowing him in a Capitol hallway. 
• Burchett said that McCarthy elbowed him in the back as he was speaking with a reporter. Burchett then chased him down. "I ran after McCarthy and I said, 'What'd you do that for?' He acted like, 'Oh, I didn't do anything.'"
• “He needs to go back to Southern California. I can still feel it. It was a clean shot to the kidney.” - Burchett, who also suggested that he and McCarthy settle their differences in “the parking lot” and that “it would be a very short fistfight.”
• Hahahahahaha… fucking children. But wait!
• Not even an hour later, Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) challenged Teamsters President Sean O’Brien to a fight right there in the midst of a Senate hearing on labor unions in America.
• The exchange began when Mullin read a tweet that O’Brien had posted in June. It inspired the following exchange…
• “You want to run your mouth? We can be two consenting adults, we can finish it here.” - Mullin.
• “OK, that’s fine, perfect. I’d love to do it right now.” - O’Brien
• “Then stand your butt up then.” - Mullin
• “You stand your butt up.” - O’Brien
• That’s when Mullin — allegedly a former MMA fighter — stood up and began to move toward O’Brien — a burly labor union chief. Luckily, there was an adult in the room.
• “No, no, sit down! Sit down! You’re a United States senator!” shouted Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
• So that’s insane. But wait!
• A few hours later, during a House Oversight Committee hearing on the General Services Administration, Rep. James Comer (R-KY) got into a heated conversation with Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) after the Florida Democrat accused the panel’s chairman of making a loan to his brother similar to the one President Joe Biden made to his brother. 
• “That is bullshit,” screamed Comer, and added, “You look like a Smurf,” seemingly referencing Moskowitz’s blue suit and tie.
• Man, if they could just sell tickets to this shit and charge pay-per-view, they’d eliminate the huge deficit that Donnie Dump ran up.
• I should add that all of that happened well before noon here on the West Coast. It’s hard keeping up with these idiots.
• I just wrote the word “idiots”, so now I’m compelled to report on the Lord King God of All Idiots, Señor Dump.
• The Fulton County, GA district attorney’s office filed an emergency motion for a protective order yesterday after a leak of discovery materials in the election subversion case against El Dumpo and his co-defendants.
• Portions of videotaped conversations that some of Dump’s co-defendants had with prosecutors were leaked to several news outlets on Monday. The videos showed former pro-Trump attorneys Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell, and Kenneth Chesebro, as well as bail bondsman Scott Hall.
• Yesterday, DA Fani Willis renewed a motion for a protective order of discovery materials and said that the “release of these confidential video recordings is clearly intended to intimidate witnesses in this case” by subjecting them to “harassment and threats prior to trial.”
• A hearing has been scheduled for today at 1:30pm ET.
• Moving on.
• Yesterday, the Senate Rules Committee advanced a resolution that would allow military nominations to be confirmed en masse — an effort to work around Tommy Tuberville's hold on military promotions. It now advances to the full Senate.
• However, it seems dead in the water, at least for now. Mitch McConnell and the Senate GOP will not support the effort, and it would require 60 members of the Senate to pass (which means at least nine Republicans would have to have balls).
• Let’s move on.
• Samuel Miele, a former campaign fundraiser for Rep. George Santos (R-NY) pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of wire fraud. 
• Miele was Santos's fundraiser during the 2020 and 2022 election cycles. He also stipulated to committing access device fraud that totaled about $100,000 in losses when he appeared in federal court. 
• Miele was charged after he impersonated a high-ranking congressional aide while soliciting contributions for Santos' campaign. The person Miele impersonated during the 2022 election cycle is believed to be the chief of staff to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. However, in taking his plea deal yesterday, Miele admitted only that he had committed wire fraud, not identity theft. He previously pleaded not guilty to both.
• Eventually this will all lead to George Santos in a jail cell, so we have that to look forward to eventually.
• The section of Interstate 10 — or as we call it here in Los Angeles, “the 10” — that was damaged in the suspicious inferno over the weekend does not have to be torn down, which is good news for Angelenos who commute near downtown.
• Instead, per Gov. Gavin Newsom, state officials and engineers have confidence that they can safely shore up the damaged pat of the freeway. Newsom said traffic should return within three to five weeks, followed by longer-term fixes and nighttime repairs.
• Let’s go over to some world news, or at least what Americans think of world news.
• Americans are split over whether Israel's response has been too much in response to Hamas' October 7 attack, with a majority of Democrats now saying it's been too much, according to the latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll.
• The results were driven by people of color and younger respondents, who were far more likely than others to say Israel has gone too far, and said their sympathies lie more with the Palestinians than Israelis.
• There are also clear divides on whether to fund both the Israel and Ukraine wars or to fund neither, and whether the U.S. should take a leadership role in the world at all. Again, younger Americans and nonwhites — as well as majorities of independents and Republicans — say the U.S. should focus more on problems at home.
• I’m not offering an opinion here, but I would say that some of these folks should research some history in regard to isolationism as an international policy. But that’s up to them.
• Anyway, the poll found Americans divided over Israel's military actions (because of course we are). Thirty-eight percent said the Israeli response has been too much, while an equal number said it's been "about right."
• Back here at home, the former director of sports medicine at San Jose State University was sentenced to two years in prison for groping female student-athletes who were seeking medical care.
• Scott Shaw admitted to touching the breasts and buttocks of four student-athletes without a medical reason and without their consent.
• Enjoy jail, you piece of shit.
• And now, The Weather: “Sunday” by Momma
• Here’s a different sort of chart. It’s the top 20 Metallica songs based on Spotify stream plays. Side note: despite not being that into metal nearly as much as I was in my youth, I’ve spent the past 19-1/2 years working (indirectly) with Metallica. They’re actually really good dudes for the most part.
• 1. Enter Sandman. 2. Nothing Else Matters. 3. Master of Puppets. 4. One. 5. The Unforgiven. 6. For Whom the Bell Tolls. 7. Whiskey In the Jar. 8. Sad But True. 9. Fade To black. 10. Fuel. 11. Seek & Destroy. 12. Wherever I May Roam. 13. Hardwired. 14. Battery. 15. Turn The Page. 16. The Unforgiven II. 17. The Day that Never Comes. 18. Welcome Home (Sanitarium). 19. Creeping Death. 20. Moth Into Flame.
• From the Sports Desk… Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a fracture in his throwing shoulder.
• An MRI performed Monday revealed that Watson had a displaced fracture to the glenoid in his right shoulder. Team doctors determined that Watson needed immediate surgery to avoid further structural damage.
• The AFC North is a tough-ass division this season. The Browns face the Steelers on Sunday in a key AFC North matchup, with both teams at 6-3, and a half-game behind the first-place Ravens (7-3) in the division.
• Watson signed a five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million deal with the Browns in 2022. Since then, he’s played in just 12 games over two seasons, earning $92 million in cash ($7.7 million per game), and is under contract through the 2026 season with $138 million left on his deal and an annual cap hit of $63.9 million.
• Yikes. The Houston Texans traded him for first-round picks in 2022, 2023 and 2024 as well as a 2023 third-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick. Was he worth it?
• Today in history… Francisco Pizarro arrives in Cuzco, the capital of the Inca Empire (1533). After 16 months of debate, the Continental Congress approves the Articles of Confederation (1777). Lieutenant Zebulon Pike spots a mountain peak while near the Colorado foothills of the Rocky Mountains (1806). Eduskunta declares itself the supreme state power of Finland, prompting its declaration of independence and secession from Russia (1917). The NBC Radio Network opens with 24 stations (1926). Nazi Germany bans Jewish children from public schools (1938). Heinrich Himmler orders that Gypsies are to be put "on the same level as Jews and placed in concentration camps” (1943). Craig Breedlove sets a land speed record of 600.601 mph (966.574 km/h) in his car, the Spirit of America, at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah (1965). Intel releases the world's first commercial single-chip microprocessor, the 4004 (1971). A research assistant is injured when a package from the Unabomber addressed to a University of Michigan professor explodes (1985). Microsoft launches the Xbox game console (2001). Sony releases the PlayStation 4 (PS4) game console (2013). The world population reached 8 billion (2022).
• November 15 is the birthday of author Madeleine de Scudéry (1607), UK prime minister William Pitt (1708), astronomer/composer William Herschel (1738), astronomer Mary E. Byrd (1849), SCOTUS justice Felix Frankfurter (1882), painter Georgia O’Keeffe (1887), animator Bill Melendez (1916), judge Joseph Wapner (1919), actor Ed Asner (1929), singer-songwriter Petula Clark (1932), actor Yaphet Kotto (1939), actor Sam Waterston (1940), politician Bill Richardson (1947), fashion designer Jimmy Choo (1948), actress Beverly D’Angelo (1951), drummer Tony Thompson (1954), rapper E-40 (1967), rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard (1968), and singer-songwriter/guitarist Chad Kroeger (1974).

Okay, that’s enough. Try and not be an asshole today. Do something nice for someone or something. Enjoy your day.