Random News: January 21, 2024

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 January 21, 2024, and it’s a Sunday. Unlike yesterday, which ended up being a full-fledged work day for me that lasted for hours on end, today is my last bit of chill time before I go into full-on trade show mode next week. I’m therefore enjoying this quiet time in my bathrobe while checking the news for you.

• In as much as I dislike Nikki Haley and disagree with nearly 100% of her platform and policies, at least she has the balls to call out El Dumpo as everyone should.
• “Last night, Trump is at a rally and he’s going on and on mentioning me multiple times as to why I didn’t take security during the Capitol riots. Why didn’t I handle Jan. 6 better? I wasn’t even in D.C. on Jan. 6. I wasn’t in office then,” she stated accurately.
• “They’re saying he got confused, that he was talking about something else, he’s talking about Nancy Pelosi. He mentioned me multiple times in that scenario. The concern I have is — I’m not saying anything derogatory — but when you’re dealing with the pressures of the presidency, we can’t have someone else that we question whether they’re mentally fit to do this. We can’t.”
• Welp, she’s not wrong.
• The New Hampshire GOP primaries are on Tuesday of this week. Haley has had some decent momentum in polls in the state, but she still lags well behind Don the Con. I don’t think she’ll win New Hampshire; I think she can only hope to come close. But even if she did, she’d likely lose every other state to Big Smelly.
• Guess we’ll see. I think the only reason these GOP people continue their campaigns is in the hope that Dump doesn’t live to the time of the general election, or ends up jailed, or wants one of them for his VP.
• Again, considering the state of Dump’s age and lack of wellness, there’s a strong likelihood that his VP will end up becoming President by default. That’s why some people like Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) are pushing so hard for the role.
• Meanwhile, there are some signs that Ron DeSantis’s campaign may be spiraling to an ignominious ending. Yesterday, he abruptly canceled appearances that had been scheduled for today on both CNN "State of the Union" and NBC's "Meet the Press”.
• Odd thing to do for a candidate two days before a primary. DeSantis is, however, adding an event today in New Hampshire. Shrug.
• As long as we’re talking about losers and failures, let’s not leave out that fact that another batch of El Dumpo’s lawyers resigned this week. It was the legal team led by Joe Tacopina.
• The lawyer did one interview about this topic. Tacopina had represented Smelly Dumpster at the initial E. Jean Carroll trial, which Dump didn't attend and ended up losing. Just before the second trial, Tacopina left and took two other attorneys with him.
• His reason? ”My compass told me my time there was done. There are a lot of personal reasons that went into that. Things that I can't and won't discuss,” he said. Tacopina also was asked if a federal conviction against Dumpy was likely.
• "The two federal cases are serious cases. I think they are not to be taken lightly. Let's put it that way," Tacopina replied. "Is it possible? Absolutely. You have a jury of 12 who is ultimately going to decide this. Jack Smith is a federal prosecutor who I knew from his days in Brooklyn. That's a serious prosecutor. These are federal cases, and you have a jury."
• Moving on.
• As we do each week, it’s Sunday Gunday at Zak’s Random News, where we do a quick scroll through some of the acts of gun violence over the past two days in the USA.
• Three dead and two injured in a shooting at a party in a rental house in Katy, TX. Three dead and two injured in a shooting at an apartment complex in Palm Bay, FL. One dead and three injured in a shooting in the Buhl community of Tuscaloosa County, AL. One dead and three injured in a shooting in Coraopolis, PA. One dead and two injured in a shooting at a gas station in Omaha, NE. One dead and two injured in a shooting at a bar in San Pedro, CA. A 14-year-old boy shot dead at a residence in Giles County, VA. A 15-year-old girl shot dead at a residence in Olathe, KS. A woman shot dead in Montgomery, AL. One shot dead in the San Marco area of Jacksonville, FL. One shot dead at a 7 Eleven in Reno, NV. One shot dead in a drive-by in Goulds, FL. One shot dead in Lexington, KY. One shot dead in Springfield, MO. Four people shot in the parking lot of a Best Buy in Plantation, FL. Three shot at a nightclub in Roanoke, VA. Two wounded — 1 critically — in a shooting at a BART station in Pittsburg, CA. Two shot at a Kia dealership in Cape Coral, FL. A 16-year-old girl shot in Virginia Beach, VA. One shot and in critical condition in Brooklyn Center, MN. One shot in Dayton, OH. One shot in east El Paso, TX. One shot in west Charlotte, NC. 
• This does not happen anywhere but in the USA. It happens because we elect political candidates who refuse to enact common sense gun laws.
• It’s not because of mental health issues. It’s no because of race. It’s not because of gender or sexual orientation. It happens because of guns. If you don’t like it, just vote.
• Let’s move on.
• Here’s a bizarre story. Nearly all the copies of a small-town Colorado newspaper were stolen from newspaper racks this week on the same day the Ouray County Plaindealer published a story about charges being filed over rapes alleged to have occurred at an underage drinking party at the police chief’s house while the chief was asleep.
• Um, that’s not how stopping information flow works in 2024. In fact, the fact that I’m reposting this info right now gives you a better idea about how it does work.
• The newspaper smartly posted the story on social media and removed its website paywall so people could read about the felony sexual assault charges filed against three men, including a relative of the police chief, for actions that allegedly occurred at party in Ouray where drugs and alcohol were used.
• The suspects were ages 17, 18 and 19 at the time, and the person who reported the rapes was 17. By Thursday evening, someone had returned a garbage bag full of newspapers to the Plaindealer, and supporters had donated about $2,000 to the paper.
• That’s cool.
• And now, The Weather: “Company Car” by Snõõper
• The weather is still very dangerous in many places across the USA. The Midwest is still particularly fucked; northwest Indiana saw a record 21 inches of lake-effect snow, while Chicago temperatures remained well below freezing yesterday. people in Michigan City, IN woke up to 35 inches of snow.
• Stay safe, wherever you are.
• From the Sports Desk… as expected, the AFC top-seed Baltimore Ravens put a handy beating on the Houston Texans. Houston kept it close in the first half but Baltimore is a juggernaut with too many weapons. The Ravens move on to next week’s AFC Championship game.
• Later in the day was an absolute thrill ride between the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers. The NFC top-seed Niners had to rely on turnovers and a 4th quarter comeback to beat that Packers, winning by 24-21. The Niners will host next weekend’s NFC Championship.
• Today’s games have the Buccaneers at Lions, and then the Chiefs at Bills. Tomorrow we’ll know everything about the two remaining conference championship games. Exciting.
• Today in history… The first American novel, ‘The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth’ by William Hill Brown, is printed in Boston. (1789). After being found guilty of treason by the French National Convention, Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine (1793). Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate (1861). New York City passes the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public, only to have the measure vetoed by the mayor (1908). Finland and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression treaty (1932). American lawyer and government official Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury (1950). The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States (1954). Production of the DeLorean sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, UK (1981). The U.S. House of Representatives votes 395–28 to reprimand Newt Gingrich for ethics violations, making him the first Speaker of the House to be so disciplined (1997). Over 400 cities across America and 160+ countries worldwide participate in a large-scale women's march, on Donald Trump's first full day as President of the United States (2017). Officials in Washington state confirm the first coronavirus case on US soil (2020).
• January 21 is the birthday of anatomist Anna Morandi Manzolini (1714), businessman/soldier/politician Ethan Allen (1738), explorer/soldier/politician John C. Frémont (1813), Confederate loser Stonewall Jackson (1824), chemist Felix Hoffmann (1868), mystic Grigori Rasputin (1869), director Baldassarre Negroni (1877), fashion designer Christian Dior (1905), soldier Richard Winters (1918), actor Telly Savalas (1922), actor Paul Scofield (1922), actor Benny Hill (1924), golfer Jack Nicklaus (1940), tenor Plácido Domingo (1941), singer-songwriter/guiutarist Richie Havens (1941), singer-songwriter/guitarist Mac Davis (1942), actress Jill Eikenberry (1947), singer-songwriter Billy Ocean (1950), lawyer/politician Eric Holder (1951), businessman/philanthropist Paul Allen (1953), actress Geena Davis (1956), NBA player Hakeem Olajuwon (1963), NBA player Detlef Schrempf (1963), actor Ken Leung (1970), singer-songwriter Cat Power (1972), and NHL player Jonathan Quick (1986).

That’s all for now. I’m going to get my ass in the shower and put on clothes and do various things. Enjoy your day.