Random News: February 5, 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 February 5, 2024, and it’s a Monday. As you’re probably aware, it’s raining a bit here in the Los Angeles area. Wanted to note that while we’re wet, we’re fine at my home here in Redondo Beach. I have many plans for today which I’ll explain below, but let’s do some news first.

• Now that the first few 2024 presidential primaries — Iowa (R), New Hampshire (Both), and South Carolina (D) — are out of the way, another batch is coming in hot.
• For the Democrats, President Biden will get his next big wins in Nevada (Feb 6) and Michigan (Feb 27) before Super Tuesday happens on March 5, when Alabama, American Samoa, Arkansas, California, Colorado, and Iowa cast their votes.
• The Republicans and their frontrunner Donnie Dump will have more upcoming in Nevada and Virgin Islands (Feb 8), South Carolina (Feb 24), Michigan (Feb 27), Idaho and Missouri (Mar 2), DC (Mar 3), and North Dakota (Mar 4) before their Super Tuesday that includes Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arkansas, California, and Colorado.
• We already know the outcomes of all of these primaries and caucuses. It’s going to end up as Biden/Trump II this November, assuming both men are available to do the job by then.
• Moving on.
• A bipartisan group of senators has released the text of a proposal of a bill that would tie billions of dollars in new foreign aid to the first major overhaul of the country's immigration system in years.
• Sens. James Lankford (R-OK), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) hammered out an agreement that would beef up border security and immigration enforcement while authorizing more assistance to Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine.
• Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), released the text of the $118.28 billion bipartisan national security supplemental package last night.
• Included in the funding is $60.06 billion to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia and $14.1 billion in security assistance for Israel. It also includes $10 billion in humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, Ukraine and other people in conflict zones. 
• $4.83 billion will support Indo-Pacific regional partners and "deter aggression by the Chinese government."
• Skepticism by the hard-right assholes in Congress means the bill will face serious hurdles in passing both chambers. 
• House Speaker Mike Johnson had previously called the deal "dead on arrival" if the final text was what had already been described in the press.
• So don’t get your hopes up.
• Let me get back to this rain for a moment. I tend to underplay storms here in SoCal, and my local topography in my actual neighborhood means I’m not personally at big risk when these weather events rarely happen.
• But a good number of my fellow residents of the LA area have been seriously impacted with major flash flooding, mudslides, rock slides, road closures, and power outages.
• Many areas got well over a month’s worth of rain in the past 24 hours. Some places, including here in LA County, got almost 10 inches of rain in two days.
• Some folks were evacuated. power is out for over 400,000 homes and businesses in my state. That all sounds… shitty.
• Anyway, we seem fine here, though some of my neighbors with less well-thought-out slopes of their driveways definitely have a garage full of water as they wake up today.
• In other news…
• As we mentioned previously, on Thursday of this week, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments over a decision by the Colorado Supreme Court to throw Donnie Dump off the ballot under the 14th Amendment’s ban on insurrectionists.
• The Colorado case was initially seen as a long shot to go against Dumpy, but a flurry of briefs to the Supreme Court from historians and legal scholars show that it will not be easy for the justices to punt with a novel ruling that dismisses the issue out of hand.
• Another huge constitutional question is in limbo pending a ruling from a federal appeals court in Washington, DC, into Trump’s sweeping claims of presidential immunity, which he argues shields him from prosecution over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. The ruling could decide whether special counsel Jack Smith’s federal election interference case goes ahead before the election.
• We also expect a ruling this week in the civil fraud trial in New York that targets Dump, his adult Little Dumps, and the Dump Organization. Judge Arthur Engoron has already said that repeated fraud took place. His final ruling centers on issues including how much Trump will have to pay for ill-gotten gains and whether he will be barred from doing business in the state where he made his name. A judgment that runs into several hundred million dollars could put significant strain on Trump’s cash reserves and wealth.
• Dump is still absorbing the consequences of a jury award late last month of $83 million to the writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of defamation after a judge ruled he was liable for sexual assault. 
• And there’s still a lot more after that. I have faith in the legal system and that Dump will face punishment for his misdeeds. If he doesn’t, we no longer live in a land with laws, and I promise, things will get very ugly very quickly.
• And now, The Weather: “Missy” by PACKS
• The Grammys were last night. I don’t watch awards shows, even those for my own industry, but critics are saying it was a particularly good one. Some things people are taking about…
• Taylor Swift made history, winning album of the year for the fourth time — the most any artist has received in that category. Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon each won three times.
• Luke Combs had a huge hit this year with a cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” and they performed the song together and got a standing ovation.
• One of my biggest all-time musical influences, Joni Mitchell, got accolades for her performance of “Both Sides Now.” That’s probably my least favorite song of her’s, but whatever. I’m glad people are giving her the kudos she deserves.
• Annie Lennox sang the second portion of the “In Memoriam” segment, delivering a stark rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U” in tribute to the late Sinéad O’Connor.
• From the Sports Desk… let’s talk about gambling.
• There’s now an app called Fliff that markets gambling to users 13-and-up. Even though it’s described as a “social sportsbook,” and its business model involves users making bets with “virtual currency,” the obvious goal is to get kids hooked on sports betting.
• Apps lilac Fliff groom underage people, training them to gamble at ages when they are more susceptible to addiction. While these apps are mostly played using virtual money, they allow users to make in-app purchases with a credit card and wager actual money. Fliff claims it functions as a legal sweepstakes contest, not a sports-betting enterprise.
• I’ve had friends whose lives were ruined by sports betting, and it can happen fast. I highly advise you keep your kids away from shit like this in the same way you would want them to avoid drug and alcohol abuse.
• Today in history… J. P. Morgan forms U.S. Steel, a $1 billion steel company, having bought some of John D. Rockefeller's iron mines and Andrew Carnegie's entire steel business (1901). Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland announces the creation of Bakelite, the world's first synthetic plastic (1907). The Congress of the United States passes the Immigration Act of 1917 over President Woodrow Wilson's veto (1917). Stephen W. Thompson shoots down a German airplane; this is the first aerial victory by the U.S. military (1918). Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D. W. Griffith launch United Artists (1919). General Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila (1945). A hydrogen bomb known as the Tybee Bomb is lost by the US Air Force off the coast of Savannah, GA, never to be recovered (1958). Astronauts land on the Moon in the Apollo 14 mission (1971). Manuel Noriega is indicted on drug smuggling and money laundering charges (1988).  United States President Donald Trump is acquitted by the United States Senate in his first impeachment trial (2020).
• February 5 is the birthday of businessman John Boyd Dunlop (1840), engineer/businessman André Citroën (1878), politician Adlai Stevenson II (1900), John Carradine (1906), novelist William S. Burroughs (1914), actor Red Buttons (1919), drummer Hal Blaine (1929), MLB legend Hank Aaron (1934), NHL coach/announcer Don Cherry (1934), artist H. R. Giger (1940), producer/screenwriter Stephen J. Cannell (1941), singer-songwriter/producer Barrett Strong (1941), NFL player Roger Staubach (1942), singer-songwriter/producer Al Kooper (1944), actor Christopher Guest (1948), drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, actor Tim Meadows (1961), actress Jennifer Jason Leigh (1962), actress Laura Linney (1964), singer-songwriter Bobby Brown (1969), and soccer player Neymar (1992).

So, one more thing. I am having some pretty serious dental surgery this afternoon, with multiple extractions and root canals involved. I have no idea how things will be after that; if all goes well, I’ll be back here tomorrow morning as usual. If not, well… you just have to assume that things will work out and I’ll be back to my usual self eventually. Wish me luck, regardless. And enjoy your day.