Random News: December 3, 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 December 3, 2023, and it’s a Sunday. Various biological processes forced me out of an enjoyable slumber earlier than I would have preferred so as long as I’m up, let’s see what’s been happening in the world.

• It’s the 337th day of 2023, if you were keeping track.
• I know, neither was I.
• A Los Angeles man already in custody in connection with another shooting investigation has been identified as the suspect in three recent killings of homeless men.
• Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33, was identified as the suspect in the three killings after authorities determined a firearm found in a vehicle he was driving when he was arrested earlier was linked to the shootings.
• It’s sad enough that far too may people have to experience a lack of shelter. A serial killer who targets them is among the worst of humanity.
• Los Angeles County, where I live, is the nation's most populous, with about 10 million people residing here. As a result of that factor and others, LA County is also home to more than one in five of the nation's homeless people. Across the USA, more than 75,000 people are homeless on any given night.
• How do we live in one of the allegedly wealthiest nations on Earth and yet we treat stray dogs with more compassion than we do these fellow human beings?
• Moving on.
• Sunday is Gunday here at Zak’s Random News, where we take a quick look at just some of the gun violence that happened in the USA over the past two days.
• Two dead and two more were injured in a shooting in Fresno, CA. Two dead and another injured in the Dinkytown neighborhood of Minneapolis, MN. One dead, four injured at a homeless encampment in Las Vegas, NV. One dead, three shot at a club on the south side of Houston, TX. One shot dead and two injured in Spartanburg, SC. One dead, one injured in a shooting near a Target parking lot in Norwalk, CA. One dead, one injured in a shooting in Colorado Springs, CO. One shot dead at Sophie's Saloon in Pittsburgh, PA. A 14-year-old shot dead in Lubbock, TX. One shot dead in a strip mall parking lot in Edina, MN. One shot dead in an apartment in Charleston, SC. One shot dead in the Inglenook area of Birmingham, AL. One shot dead at a gas station in Goodyear, AZ. One shot dead in Durham, NC. Another shot dead in Jamestown, ND. Another in Rochester, NY. One shot dead in the Russell neighborhood of Louisville, KY. One dead after he was shot in the face at a bus stop in Southwest Baltimore, MD. Four teens shot at party Aurora, CO. An 8-year-old boy and two adults shot in Rocky Mount, NC. Three shot in a domestic incident in Ste. Genevieve, MO. Three shot in Fort Wayne, IN. Two men shot in two shootings in Gaffney, SC. Two men shot in Baton Rouge, LA. Two more men shot near a gas station off I-65 in Birmingham, AL. One man shot multiple times in the Country Club/Lakeshore neighborhood of Shreveport, LA. One man shot and in critical condition in Memphis, TN. One man shot in a strip club in Old Forge, PA. One man shot in the Portland neighborhood of Louisville, KY. A woman shot in the face during a burglary in Navajo County, AZ. One man shot in Raleigh, NC. One man shot in Lexington, KY. One man shot in Milwaukee, WI. Another shot in Savannah, GA. One man shot at a park in west Charlotte, NC. Another man shot in Fall River, MA.
• Is that all of the shootings? Not even close. That’s just from a quick scroll through the news of SOME of the incidents of gun violence in the past 48 hours.
• If you think noting can be done, you’re wrong, and possibly dead wrong if you eventually find yourself a victim. Vote for candidates who support common sense gun regulation.
• You may be saving your own life, or that of your child or loved ones.
• Moving on.
• An American warship and multiple commercial ships came under attack today in the Red Sea. Yemen’s Houthi rebels later claimed attacks on two ships they described as being linked to Israel, but did not acknowledge targeting a U.S. Navy vessel.
• The attack potentially marked a major escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Mideast linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
• This was no small matter. A U.S. official said the attack began about 10am in Sanaa, Yemen, and had gone on for as much as five hours.
• I would really prefer that this didn’t escalate to having to necessitate a huge US presence in the war (he said, knowing there already is one).
• Also note that this is nothing new nor tied specifically to this war. In 2016, the U.S. launched Tomahawk cruise missiles that destroyed three coastal radar sites in Houthi-controlled territory to retaliate for missiles being fired at U.S. Navy ships at the time.
• Sigh. War. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.
• In maybe-related news, an Iran-linked hacking group is actively targeting and compromising multiple U.S. facilities for using an Israeli-made computer system.
• The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said on Friday that the hackers have been infiltrating video screens with the message, "You have been hacked, down with Israel. Every equipment 'made in Israel' is CyberAv3ngers legal target."
• The cyberattacks have spanned multiple states, and the equipment being targeted is predominately used in water and wastewater systems, companies in energy, food and beverage manufacturing, and health care.
• You’d be amazed how lax cybersecurity is at places who don’t have the budget to pay for adequate IT infrastructure… like crucial government services.
• Sigh. Let’s move on.
• In other news, more details are emerging about the rape investigation of Florida state GOP Chairman Christian Ziegler. Police have obtained cellphone messages between the alleged victim and Ziegler in the hours leading up to the encounter.
• On October 2, the woman had agreed to have a sexual encounter with Ziegler that was to include his wife, Bridget. But when the woman learned that Bridget couldn’t make it, she changed her mind and canceled.
• When Ziegler told her in one message that his wife was no longer available, she replied, “Sorry I was mostly in for her.”
• Ziegler then showed up at her apartment uninvited and raped her.
• Bridget Ziegler, who is not named in the complaint against her husband, is a co-founder of Moms for Liberty and has worked closely with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. She confirmed having a sexual encounter with the female victim but says it only happened one time.
• Suuuuuuuuuure Bridget.
• Moving on.
• In other news about people who are sexually fucked up, Victor Manuel Hernandez-Pineda is the pastor of a church in Richmond, CA.
• The 53-year-old spiritual leader was taken into custody Friday on suspicion of three counts of kidnapping and four counts of molesting a girl younger than 14.
• The victim was a member of his church. At the time the assaults started, she was 13. They continued an additional five times over three years. Charges against Hernandez-Pineda are expected to be officially lodged early next week.
• Let’s move on. Shit like that makes me want to be violent.
• Wanna know how things are going in the Ron DeSantis presidential campaign?
• DeSantis’s “Never Back Down“ super PAC has parted ways with interim CEO Kristin Davison. Davison took the helm of Never Back Down following Chris Jankowski’s departure on November 22. 
• Yes. She served as CEO for nine days. Do you know how bad shit has to be for someone to get fired or resign as CEO after nine days?
• And now, The Weather: “Heartbreak Feels Good In a Place Like This” by veronicavon
• Today would have been my mom’s 79th birthday, but she died last February. Still, happy birthday to her.
• Today’s chart is from the Billboard 100 in December 1985. I’m posting this one purposefully.
• People have this tendency to romanticize the past and live in some sad nostalgic dream environment where, “When I was in high school, all the music was great, and now it sucks!”
• Well guess what? I was a senior in high school at this moment, and even though some of the artists on this chart have done some great shit over the course of their careers, most of this list is utter shit!
• 1. Broken Wings (Mr. Mister). 2. Separate Lives (Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin). 3. Say You, Say Me (Lionel Richie). 4. Party All The Time (Eddie Murphy). 5. Never (Heart). 6. Election Day (Arcadia). 7. Alive & Kicking (Simple Minds). 8. Sleeping Bag (ZZ Top). 9. I Miss You (Klymaxx). 10. We Built This City (Starship). 11. Who's Zoomin' Who (Aretha Franklin). 12. Small Town (John Mellencamp). 13. Perfect Way (Scritti Politti). 14. That's What Friends Are For (Dionne & Friends Featuring Elton John, Gladys Knight And Stevie Wonder). 15. Lay Your Hands On Me (Thompson Twins). 16. Tonight She Comes (The Cars). 17. You Belong To The City (Glenn Frey). 18. Walk Of Life (Dire Straits). 19. Talk To Me (Stevie Nicks). 20. Wrap Her Up (Elton John)
• From the Sports Desk… the premier NFL games to keep your eyes on today is San Francisco (8-3) at Philadelphia (10-1). Oddly, the 49ers are favored by -2 points, but I took the Eagles.
• Today in history… Pope John X crowns Berengar I of Italy — my 36th great-grandfather — as Holy Roman Emperor (915). The Electoral College casts votes for president and vice president that resulted in a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr (1800). Illinois becomes the 21st U.S. state (1818). Modern neon lighting is first demonstrated by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show (1910). Nazi Germany issues the Decree on the Utilization of Jewish Property forcing Jews to sell real property, businesses, and stocks at below market value as part of Aryanization (1938). Pioneer 10 sends back the first close-up images of Jupiter (1973). In Cincinnati, 11 fans are suffocated in a crush for seats on the concourse outside Riverfront Coliseum before a Who concert (1979). A test engineer for Sema Group uses a personal computer to send the world's first text message via the Vodafone network to the phone of a colleague (1992).
• December 3 is the birthday of philanthropist/activist Phoebe Hearst (1842), businessman Charles Alfred Pillsbury (1842), novelist Joseph Conrad (1857), songwriter Gussie Davis (1863), psychologist Anna Freud (1895), singer Andy Williams (1927), director Jean-Luc Goddard (1930), singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne (1948), singer-songwriter Mickey Thomas (1949), race car driver Rick Mears (1951), actress Daryl Hannah (1960), actress Julianne Moore (1960), singer-songwriter/bass player Joe Lally (1963), actor Brendan Fraser (1968), businessman Hal Steinbrenner (1969), actor Brian Bonsall (1981), and rapper Lil Baby (1994).

Time to do things. Enjoy your day.