Random News: December 9, 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 9, 2023, and it’s a Saturday. I’ve dragged my ass out of a warm and cozy bed just to deliver you the news. And to have coffee. That took priority.

• We’ve been covering the story of Kate Cox of Texas, who sued the state seeking a court-ordered abortion in order to obtain the medical procedure legally.
• Cox, 31, is a mother of two who is currently 20 weeks pregnant. Her unborn baby was diagnosed with a fatal genetic condition, and complications in her pregnancy are putting her health at severe risk.
• I’m going to be graphic here for a moment to explain the situation better.
• Cox had to go to the ER four times in two days with severe cramps, leaking fluid and with elevated vital signs, and is at increased risk for multiple pregnancy complications including possible life-threatening infection, and the strong possibility that she will never be able to have another child, which she wants to do.
• On Thursday, as we reported, it seemed like there was good news when judge Maya Guerra Gamble of Travis County sided with Cox, and issued a temporary restraining order to permit her doctor to perform an abortion without facing civil or criminal penalties under the state law.
• But then late yesterday, after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton petitioned the state’s supreme court to intervene in the case, the court froze the lower court’s ruling. Cox is being forced to carry the fetus with no timeline as to when of if her medical procedure will be allowed.
• “We are talking about urgent medical care. Kate is already 20 weeks pregnant,” said Molly Duane, an attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “This is why people should not need to beg for healthcare in a court of law.”
• I don’t want to get into a bunch of, “I told you so,” statements. But I did all you that Republicans were gunning to overturn Roe v Wade, and many of you thought I was being an alarmist.
• I told you that women in certain states would be forced to give birth regardless of whether or not it presented a severe health risk, and many of you thought I was being dramatic.
• And now I am telling you that if your state elects Republican leaders, your state will be governed in the same way as you’re now seeing in Texas.
• And I am also telling you that Republicans have openly said on many occasions that they intend on enacting a nationwide ban on women’s reproductive health care that will force women to give birth regardless of any extenuating circumstances, in every state of the USA.
• Whether it’s via rape, incest, or the life of the pregnant person being in danger… they will not give a fuck. They want women to be treated the same as breeding animals.
• They do not want women to ever have a choice in their own reproductive plans. That is what you support when you vote for any Republican at any level, from your local mayor to the President and everything in between.
• Let’s move on…
• No, let’s not. A pregnant woman in Kentucky filed a lawsuit yesterday demanding the right to an abortion.
• The suit, filed in state court in Louisville, says Kentucky’s near-total prohibition of abortion violates the plaintiff’s rights to privacy and self-determination under the state constitution.
• The plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, is about eight weeks pregnant and she wants to have an abortion in Kentucky but cannot legally do so because of the state’s ban. She is seeking class-action status to include other Kentuckians who are or will become pregnant and want to have an abortion.
• I am hoping that pregnant women in every state that forces women to give birth takes similar action.
• Okay, now moving on… for the moment.
• The United States vetoed a United Nations resolution yesterday backed by almost all other Security Council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.
• The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1, with the United Kingdom abstaining. The United States’ isolated stand reflected a growing fracture between Washington and some of its closest allies over Israel’s monthslong bombardment of Gaza. France and Japan were among those supporting the call for a cease-fire.
• When you’re the only one saying something is right when everyone else is saying it’s wrong, maybe you should consider the possibility that you’re the one who’s wrong.
• I am supportive of the Biden administration on a general basis, but there’s no fucking way I would support this decision that will invariably lead to unnecessary death and destruction for civilians who are in no way involved in the terroristic activities of Hamas.
• In related news of US support of an ally, a deal to provide further assistance to Ukraine by year-end appears to be increasingly out of reach. The impasse is deepening in Congress despite dire warnings from the White House about the consequences of inaction as Republicans insist on pairing the aid with changes to America’s immigration and border policies.
• President Biden has expressed willingness to make significant compromises on the border, and the Republicans in Congress continue to expand their wish list, making it untenable to find any middle ground.
• So, when Putin rampages across Europe, don’t say you didn’t know what would happen. Because we know what will happen. Republicans can own that too.
• Let’s move on.
• Yesterday, a federal appeals court upheld the gag order imposed two months ago on former president and current accused felon Donald John Trump in the criminal case for his plotting to overturn the 2020 election.
• They did narrow its terms to allow him, among other things, to go after Jack Smith, the special counsel who has filed two indictments against him.
• In its ruling, a three-judge panel of the court struck a balance between protecting many of the people involved in the federal case in Washington from Dump’s attacks and giving leeway to Dumpy to speak his mind while he is running for office. The ruling permits Dumples to continue asserting that the prosecution is a political vendetta and to directly criticize Mr. Smith, the public face of the prosecution.
• I’m glad they’ve upheld the gag order, but anyone with a brain can see that Dump is getting easier treatment than just about any other criminal defendant who has ever stood trial. That’s how it is with these people… one rule for them, and a different one for everyone else.
• Meanwhile, for any American spending their hard-earned money in the form of donations to Dump and the Republican National Committee, I though you might like to know where it’s going.
• Yesterday, Dump’s expert witness Eli Bartov revealed that he has made approximately $877,500 for his expert testimony in this case — charging $1,350 per hour for about 650 hours of work. When questioned by lawyers for the state of New York about who was paying him, Bartov replied that his bank statements showed some of the money was paid by the Trump Organization and some came from Trump's Save America PAC.
• Another expert witness for the defense, Frederick Chin, who testified earlier in the week on real estate valuation, admitted that he billed $850 per hour for 1,000 hours of work, totaling $850,000.
• Who’s paying them? People in red MAGA caps who donate to Dump. That’s who. Their kids may not be getting many Christmas gifts, but they can feel good knowing they are paying for high-priced lawyers and paid witnesses, I suppose.
• Moving on.
• The Michigan teen whose murderous rampage took the lives of four classmates at Oxford High School in November 2021 will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
• It was just over two years ago when then-15-year-old Ethan Crumbley emerged from an Oxford High School bathroom with a handgun and began methodically firing at students and a school employee.
• He killed four of his classmates, most shot at point-blank range.
• I hope he lives a very long time, being incarcerated for decades until his eventual demise. That’s a fate worse than death, really.
• Let’s do some happier news.
• A federal judge in California approved a court settlement yesterday that will prohibit federal U.S. border officials from reviving the Trump-era "zero tolerance" family separation policy for the next eight years.
• Back in June 2018, I participated in the "Families Belong Together" rally here in Redondo Beach. We were protesting this exact issue.
• Under the settlement between the American Civil Liberties Union and the Biden administration, the federal government will be barred from separating migrant families solely for the purposes of prosecuting the parents for entering the U.S. illegally.
• The settlement also provides social and legal benefits to migrant families affected by the Trump-era practice, which led to the separation of roughly 5,000 children from their parents. 
• The agreement does not include monetary compensation, though it should.
• The policy was one of the darkest chapters of the Trump administration, with babies and toddlers being literally ripped from their parents' arms under this horrific practice. I’m glad to see it become prohibited. It’s a victory for the good people.
• Some more good news…
• Edward C. Mathews, 47, was sentenced yesterday to eight years in prison. This is the guy from New Jersey who, in 2021, was seen on a viral video repeatedly calling his neighbors the N-word and another offensive slur outside a home in Mount Laurel.
• In October, Mathews pleaded guilty to four counts of bias intimidation and possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute.
• Mathews had a pattern of terrorizing his Black neighbors, including a time when he left a threatening note on one of their vehicles. He was also accused of stalking, smearing shit on his neighbors’ windows, and damaging their cars
• Fuck that guy. Rot in prison, you racist piece of shit.
• In other news of people behaving badly, Ian Cramer, 42, has been charged with manslaughter, fleeing a police officer, preventing arrest, reckless endangerment and driving under suspension, after crashing into a patrol vehicle that struck and killed a sheriff’s deputy who was outside of the car on Wednesday.
• He is the son of North Dakota Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer. 
• Mercer County Deputy Paul Martin, 53, was standing outside the vehicle and about to deploy a spike strip to end the pursuit. The law enforcement veteran is now dead due to Cramer’s actions.
• Let’s continue a topic I’ve mentioned recently about artificial intelligence apps that generate nudes of women from images of them fully clothed.
• An analysis released yesterday says these custom services are moving from niche internet forums to an automated and scaled online business.
• The technology works by manipulating existing photos and video footage of real individuals and making them appear nude without their consent. In other words, it could be a very normal photo of you, your wife, your daughter, wearing clothes, and then these apps make them appear nude.
• The altered photos can then be posted or shared.
• Per the report, there were 24 million unique visitors to sites that generate such AI nudes in September alone, and the volume of referral links has increased by more than 2,000% on platforms such as Reddit and X since the start of 2023.
• One image posted to Elon Musk’s X platform advertised an undressing app and used language that suggests customers could create nude images and then send them to the person whose image was digitally undressed, inciting harassment.
• This is a problem that’s only going to get worse.
• And now, The Weather: “Poolside” by Drench Fries
• New data shows that more than 260,000 Americans in coastal communities are at risk of increased flooding over the next 20 years. The number of people at risk worldwide is projected to grow five-fold by the end of the century if nations continue their current course of global greenhouse gas emissions. 
• The new information shows increased coastal flooding this century will put over 70 million people around the globe in the path of expanding floodplains. 
• ”The effects of rising sea levels will put at risk decades of human development progress in densely populated coastal zones, which are home to one in seven people in the world," said Pedro Conceição, director of UNDP's Human Development Report Office.
• Sigh.
• Rest in peace to Ryan O’Neal, the handsome and athletic star of 1970s films like “Love Story” and “Paper Moon”. He died yesterday at 82.
• O’Neal was as well known for his acting as he was for his bad temper and his indulgence in drugs and alcohol. He was also the longtime companion of actress Farrah Fawcett.
• From the Sports Desk… the NBA tried something new the season. I’m not sure if I like it or not. It’s an in-season tournament.
• Yeah, weird, huh? It was like a random playoff bracket for no reason at all. Anyway, today is the final game, where the Indiana Pacers will face off against the Los Angeles Lakers.
• The only notable thing is the age and experience difference between the two teams’ stars: 23-year-old Tyrese Haliburton and 38-year-old LeBron James.
• Today in history… British troops and Loyalists, misinformed about Patriot militia strength, lose the Battle of Great Bridge, ending British rule in Virginia (1775). The Texian Army captures San Antonio following the Siege of Béxar (1835). The first traffic lights are installed, outside the Palace of Westminster in London (1868). In Louisiana, P. B. S. Pinchback becomes the first African American governor of a U.S. state following the impeachment of Henry C. Warmoth (1872). Student protests occur in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, and are subsequently dispersed by government authorities (1935). China, Cuba, Guatemala, and the Philippine Commonwealth declare war on Germany and Japan (1941). Harry Gold is sentenced to 30 years in jail for helping Klaus Fuchs pass information about the Manhattan Project to the Soviet Union (1950). General Electric announces that all communist employees will be discharged from the company (1953). The first episode of Coronation Street, the world's longest-running television soap opera, is broadcast in the United Kingdom (1960). Douglas Engelbart gave what became known as "The Mother of All Demos", publicly debuting the computer mouse, hypertext, and the bit-mapped graphical user interface using the oN-Line System (1968). The eradication of the smallpox virus is certified, making smallpox the first of only two diseases that have been driven to extinction (1979). Gwen Jacob is acquitted of committing an indecent act, giving women the right to be topless in Ontario, Canada (1996). Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich is arrested by federal officials for crimes including attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Barack Obama (2008). The Marriage Amendment Bill receives royal assent and comes into effect, making Australia the 26th country to legalize same-sex marriage (2017).
• December 9 is the birthday of poet John Milton (1608), author Joel Chandler Harris (1845), fitness expert Joseph Pilates (1883), businessman Clarence Birdseye (1886), clown Emmett Kelly (1898), actress Margaret Hamilton (1902), author Dalton Trumbo (1905), admiral/computer scientist Grace Hopper (1906), actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (1909), politician Tip O’Neill (1912), actor Kirk Douglas (1916), actor/comedian Redd Foxx (1922), actor Dick Van Patten (1928), actor/writer Buck Henry (1930), actress Judi Dench (1934), musician Junior Wells (1934), NFL player Deacon Jones (1938), NFL player Dick Butkus (1942), singer-songwriter/guitarist Joan Armatrading (1950), actor Michael Dorn (1952), actor John Malkovich (1953), NBA player World B. Free (1953), singer/actor Donny Osmond (1957), actress Felicity Huffman (1962), politician Kirsten Gillibrand (1966), singer-songwriter/guitarist Jakob Dylan (1969), and singer-songwriter/keyboardist Imogen Heap (1977).

Welp, I’m going to go shower and dress myself and do various things. Enjoy your day.