Random News: November 24, 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 24, 2023, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! Yesterday’s feast was fantastic, but today I seem to be paying the price for my overindulgence. I’m sure a turkey sandwich and some ibuprofen will help. Let’s do some news.

• Starting on a high note.
• A four-day cease-fire between Israel and Hamas began this morning, allowing sorely needed aid to start flowing into Gaza and setting the stage for the release of dozens of hostages held by militants and Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
• There were no reports of fighting in the hours after the truce began. The deal offered some relief for Gaza’s 2.3 million people, who have endured weeks of Israeli bombardment and dwindling supplies of basic necessities, as well as for families in Israel worried about loved ones taken captive during Hamas’ October 7 attack.
• So far, things seem to be going well. At last update, 13 Israeli hostages were freed from Hamas captivity this morning, and 39 Palestinian women and teenagers who were being held in Israeli prisons were released in exchange. Hamas also released 12 Thai nationals who were being held hostage.
• This deal is being brokered by negotiations mediated by Qatar.
• Let’s hope the four days of peace holds up and extends into many more.
• Today is Black Friday. What does that mean?
• While the term seems to have been around forever, that’s not the case. While the day after Thanksgiving has been a big shopping day for a long time (notable back to 1952), it was in the early ‘80s that the “Black Friday” appellation gained traction.
• The reference is to the idea that retailers traditionally operated at a financial loss for most of the year (January through November) and made their annual profit during the holiday season, beginning on the day after Thanksgiving.
• Why “black”? Because in the analog days of yore, accounting practices would use red ink to show negative amounts and black ink to show positive amounts. Black Friday is the beginning of the period when retailers would no longer be "in the red", instead of taking in the year's profits.
• The earliest known published reference to this explanation occurs in The Philadelphia Inquirer for November 28, 1981. Despite that, in 1985, retailers in places including Cincinnati and Los Angeles and elsewhere were still unaware of the term.
• The term is now known not only around the USA but in some countries around the world, since international stores starting using it to promote the day to remain competitive with US-based online retailers. Makes sense.
• As long as we’re on this topic…
• New Jersey’s American Dream mall — the second largest mall in the country — was evacuated minutes after it opened today on Black Friday because of a bomb threat that was later deemed unfounded.
• That’s an asshole move.
• Just after American Dream opened its doors at 7am, someone told police there was a bomb inside the facility, and officers evacuated the shopping center so they could search it. The mall was swept for explosive devices; none were found. It reopened around 9:15am.
• Let’s move on… to some problems with the far-right that are plaguing places other than the USA.
• In Ireland, right-wing protesters angered by a stabbing attack they believed had involved someone of immigrant background rampaged through central Dublin last night, leaving behind a trail of burning destruction.
• They torched double-decker buses, trams, and police cars. After the stabbing incident, rumors spread online that the perpetrator of the attack was an immigrant or had an immigrant background.
• Except the BBC says the man was an Irish citizen who had lived in the country for 20 years.
• Moving over to the Netherlands, where hard-right politician Geert Wilders was elected prime minister on Wednesday. 
• Wilders has been dubbed the Dutch Trump. His publicly expressed views include linking Muslim immigration with terrorism and calling for a ban on mosques and the Quran.
• Other far-right Europe leaders, like Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Flemish independence leader Tom Van Grieken, hopped on the congratulatory bandwagon.
• And, speaking of far-right nutjobs, the accused criminal Donald John Trump has told Argentina’s President-elect Javier Milei that he plans to travel to the South American country so the two can meet.
• Sigh. You know how to prevent this stuff in the USA, right? Vote. Every opportunity, at every level. Local, county, state, national, anything. Vote like your life depends on it.
• Because it does.
• Let’s move on.
• New York police have identified the victims of the explosive car crash Wednesday at the Rainbow Bridge border crossing between the United States and Canada.
• Kurt P. Villani, 53, and Monica Villani, 53, of Grand Island, New York, died when their vehicle crashed into a median at the border crossing. The exact cause of the crash is still under investigation.
• Villani’s car was a $300,000 Bentley, but it may have have some awful mechanical problem and then exploded when the gas tank was ripped open during the accident.
• In other news, 34 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested yesterday after they briefly disrupted the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York by gluing themselves to the pavement of the parade route.
• Most were just issued summons for trespassing. Another four people were criminally charged with resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, trespassing, and disorderly conduct related to the vandalism at the New York Public Library.
• C’mon people. Don’t spray paint a fucking public library. Jesus.
• In “Things I Wouldn’t Do” news, the Biden family did their annual Thanksgiving tradition of a polar plunge in the frigid waters off the coast of Nantucket, MA. It’s apparently something the’ve done nearly every Thanksgiving since 1975.
• No thanks.
• Members of the Biden clan involved in this insanity included President Joe, son Hunter, granddaughter Naomi, and several others. Water temps in the Nantucket Sound were 48F were a rather chilly 48º F (about 9º C) yesterday afternoon. 
• And now, The Weather: “Miss Me” by Selmer (feat. JEZ_EBEL)
• From the Sports Desk… yesterday’s three NFL games featured one upset and two blowouts. The Packers (5-6) surprised the Lions (8-3), winning 29-22. Note: the Lions, who play every Thanksgiving, haven’t won their turkey day game since Obama was in office.
• The Cowboys (8-3) killed the Commanders (4-8) 45-10, while the 49ers (8-3) made mincemeat of the Seahawks (6-5) by a score of 31-13.
• From the not-Sports Desk, the amazing Dolly Parton at age 77 performed the halftime show of the Washington/Dallas game wearing an outfit inspired by the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, then did a set that included songs off her recent ‘Rockstar’ album as well as some classics like “Jolene” and “9 to 5.”
• Today in history… Genghis Khan defeats the renegade Khwarazmian prince Jalal al-Din at the Battle of the Indus, completing the Mongol conquest of Central Asia (1221). Abel Tasman becomes the first European to discover the island Van Diemen's Land, later renamed Tasmania (1642). The Texas Provincial Government authorizes the creation of a horse-mounted police force called the Texas Rangers (1835). Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species (1859). Anna Sewell's animal welfare novel ‘Black Beauty’ is published (1877). In Washington, D.C., the FBI Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory officially opens (1932). Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F. Kennedy, is killed by Jack Ruby (1963). Donald Johanson and Tom Gray discover the 40% complete Australopithecus afarensis skeleton, nicknamed "Lucy" after The Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” (1974). Iran signs an interim agreement with the P5+1 countries, limiting its nuclear program in exchange for reduced sanctions (2013). 
• November 24 is the birthday of composer Charles Theodore Pachelbel (1690), missionary Junípero Serra (1713), US president Zachary Taylor (1784), painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864), pianist/composer Scott Joplin (1868), educator Dale Carnegie (1888), mob boss Lucky Luciano (1897), author/publisher William F. Buckley, Jr. (1925), politician George Moscone (1929), NBA player Oscar Robertson (1938), NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue (1940), drummer Pete Best (1941), bass player Donald “Duck” Dunn (1941), comedian Billy Connolly (1942), keyboardist/composer Richard Tee (1943), serial killer Ted Bundy (1946), NBA player/coach Rudy Tomjanovich (1948), actress Denise Crosby (1957), and actor Colin Hanks (1977). 

In weird news, I awoke this morning with a super painful right hand (no jokes please), including pretty awful swelling near my index finger knuckle. I’ve tried to fix it so far with coffee, a turkey sandwich, and ibuprofen, and it seems to be helping. Enjoy your day.