Random News: February 7, 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 7, 2024, and it’s a Wednesday. I’m up and about and trying to get back into my usual schedule while also taking it somewhat easy.

• Before I jump back in…
• Thanks to all of you who expressed concern or sympathy about the events of the previous day. I’m happy to report that I’m feeling a million times better and there have been no further incidents of anything like Monday night’s nightmare.
• My mouth is still swollen and obviously still hurts some, but there are lots of indications of healing… like no longer having a bunch of blood in my mouth at any given time. You start to appreciate little things like that.
• In fact, my biggest complaint as of now is bemoaning the inability to eat solid foods while my mouth is still healing. My recent meals of things like applesauce, yogurt, and soup (not at the same time) are boring me to death. I’m gonna fucking murder a pizza at the next safe opportunity.
• Okay, enough on that. Let’s go.
• A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has ruled that El Dumpo does not enjoy broad immunity from federal prosecution, a major legal setback for the former president.
• Ha ha!
• They wrote that for the purposes of this criminal case, "former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant."
• Fuck yeah!
• It would be "a striking paradox," the judges wrote, if the president, who alone has the constitutional duty to ensure that laws be faithfully executed, "were the sole officer capable of defying those laws with impunity."
• Exactly!
• So that is the best possible news of the moment. Dump says he’ll appeal it, but will the Supreme Court even bother hearing this frivolous bullshit? I’d hope not, but the answer is likely yes.
• Moving on for now.
• There was even more humiliating events in the GOP world yesterday when a House GOP effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas failed in embarrassing fashion as four Republicans joined Democrats in voting against what would have been the second-ever impeachment of a Cabinet official.
• The last one was 140 years ago. That’s because congresspeople used to be adults.
• The 214-216 vote is a stunning loss for a GOP that has faced continual pressure from its right flank to impeach a Biden official, even as the party has waffled over which one to focus on.
• One cool story in the midst of that: Rep. Al Green (D-TX) surprised the House floor by entering the chamber being pushed on a wheelchair and wearing hospital scrubs. He’s 76 and had been having abdominal surgery when he left the hospital just to cast this crucial vote.
• Can you imagine your own party bring a ridiculous impeachment bill to the floor and then lose it because you don’t know how to count? It’s mindbogglingly incompetent. How long will Mike Johnson last in the Speaker role at this rate?
• That was only one of two losses for Republicans yesterday. The House also failed to pass a standalone package for $17.6 billion in Israel aid amid opposition from both Republicans and Democratic leaders.
• Because of resistance among members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, House Speaker Mike Johnson had been forced to bring up the bill under a procedure that requires two-thirds majority of the House to approve it.
• President Joe Biden had also issued a veto threat against the standalone Israel aid bill, citing a desire to include it as part of a larger national security package.
• Losers keep losing.
• Let’s move on to some news I couldn’t cover during my Very Bad Day.
• King Charles has been diagnosed with a form of cancer that has not been specifically revealed. He began regular treatments on Monday and will postpone public duties during the treatment.
• Charles is 75, which isn’t super old these days but not super young either. I wish him good health and a long life, though his reign might be pretty short compared to his mom’s.
• Moving on…
• Nevada has a bizarre hybrid primary/caucus voting system, but any way you look at it, Joe Biden was a winner, and Nikki Haley was a loser in their elections yesterday.
• Haley lost the state’s nonbinding Republican primary to “none of these candidates,” an embarrassing defeat in a contest that did not feature Donnie Dump on the ballot. Dumpy is opting instead to run in the state’s caucuses tomorrow.
• “None of These” received 43,893 GOP votes in Nevada; Haley got 21,299.
• On the Democratic side, Joe Biden easily won with 98,358 votes, beating “None of These” who had 6,398 votes (over twice as much as Marianne Williamson with 3,173 votes).
• Let’s move on.
• Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee since 2017, is planning to step down from the role. She told Dumpy that she’ll be stepping down shortly after the February 24 primary in South Carolina.
• Dump is likely to push Michael Whatley, chair of the North Carolina Republican Party, as her replacement in an election for a new chair. Whatley backs Dumpy’s baseless claims about the 2020 presidential election being stolen from him.
• Of course he does.
• Let’s do some good news.
• People nationwide are celebrating an announcement this morning from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency which unveiled new, stricter limits for one of the deadliest types of air pollution: tiny particles about 30 times smaller than a human hair. These particles are called PM2.5 (shorthand for particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter) and are commonly referred to as soot.
• The agency lowered the allowable limit for annual PM2.5 levels from 12 micrograms per cubic meter to 9, a significant reduction.
• EPA Administrator Michal Regan says, "Soot pollution is one of the most dangerous forms of air pollution and is linked to a range of serious and potentially deadly illnesses, including asthma and heart attacks."
• The new standard represents the first tightening of the rules since 2012, but states will have several years to reach the new limits. Tiny particles are dangerous to people's health at nearly any concentration. The sources vary: fossil fuel combustion, agriculture, and industrial processes all add to the load, as does wildfire smoke and dust.
• Very happy about this.
• In trashy news, Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert has been granted a temporary restraining order against her ex-husband Jayson Boebert.
• The protection order for domestic abuse was granted a couple of weeks following Jayson Boebert's arrest in two separate incidents. He’s facing three charges related to an incident on January 6 at a restaurant in Silt, CO with his ex-wife: disorderly conduct, third-degree trespass, and obstruction of a peace officer. 
• The second incident happened when his 18-year-old son called authorities after Jayson Boebert assaulted him and grabbed a rifle. He is facing charges of prohibited use of weapons, harassment and assault in the third degree for that incident.
• It’s a good thing there are laws to help protect domestic abuse victims. As to whether or not Boebert supported those laws herself is your own guess.
• In other news, a survey of more than 90,000 transgender people in the U.S. — the largest nationwide survey of the community ever — found that trans people continue to experience workplace and medical discrimination. However, the overwhelming majority of them still report more life satisfaction after having transitioned. 
• The survey comes as hundreds of bills in the last three years have attempted to roll back trans rights, most often by restricting trans people’s access to transition-related health care and trans students’ abilities to play school sports.
• Despite the many instances of discrimination, 79% of the respondents who lived at least some of the time in different genders from the ones they were assigned at birth reported that they were “a lot more satisfied” with their lives. 
• Happy for them.
• And now, The Weather: “Family Man” by juicer
• The rains flooding my home area seem to have subsided. California in general is still doing a lot of cleanup from mudslides and wind-related damage.
• From the Sports Desk… the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers' were on a 16-game winning streak, and one more win would have placed them in the record books. Instead, the Vegas Golden Knights brought an end to the streak last night.
• Edmonton was looking to tie the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins for the longest NHL win streak. But Vegas scored a goal less than two minutes into the third period, and that was all it took.
• And yes, the Super Bowl is this weekend but I soon have to get used to acknowledging that other sports exist.
• Today in history… In Florence, Italy, supporters of Girolamo Savonarola burn cosmetics, art, and books, in a "Bonfire of the vanities” (1497). The 11th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified (1795). The second full-length animated Walt Disney film, Pinocchio, premieres (1940). The United States bans all Cuban imports and exports (1962). Pluto moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either was discovered (1979). The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agrees to give up its monopoly on power (1990). Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on mission STS-98, carrying the Destiny laboratory module to the International Space Station (2001). The U.S. state of Mississippi officially certifies the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery (2013).
• February 7 is the birthday of blacksmith/businessman John Deere (1804), novelist Charles Dickens (1812), author Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867), novelist Sinclair Lewis (1885), pianist/composer Eubie Blake (1887), physicist Harry Nyquist (1889), swimmer/actor Buster Crabbe (1908), saxophonist King Curtis (1934), actor Pete Postlethwaite (1946), actor/screenwriter Robert Smigel (1960), actor James Spader (1960), singer-songwriter Garth Brooks (1962), comedian Eddie Izzard (1962), actor Chris Rock (1965), NBA player/coach Steve Nash (1974), and actor Ashton Kutcher (1978).

Again, I want to thank so many of you who commented or reached out privately after my Very Bad, Not Good, Super Sad Monday. I’m going to be okay. None of this is fun but my biggest enemy is my impatience at healing quickly. I’ll get there. Enjoy your day.