Random News: July 11, 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 July 11, 2024, and it’s a Thursday for some reason. I’m Zak, your news man with a news plan, which is to awaken your awareness of things that happen in the world. Ignorance may be bliss, but knowledge is power, and if you read this shit daily, you’re a powerful motherfucker by now. Let’s jump in.

• Previous to the Supreme Court having changed the United States from a democracy to a monarchy on July 1, today was supposed to be the scheduled date of Donnie Dump’s sentencing for 34 felony counts in his hush money trial.
• But no. That’s been delayed until at least September 18, or perhaps canceled altogether. We don’t know yet. At least one person is, per the SCOTUS, above the law.
• Would you ever have imagined that in the USA? A man tried in court and convicted by a jury of his peer’s, and he may just… walk away with no accountability and no repercussions.
• It still amazes me. And then some people still want that guy to lead them.
• Moving on to some current news.
• This week’s NATO meetings in Washington D.C. seem to be going very well. NATO, of course, is the main global military alliance that includes the USA and our allies.
• At the same time, NATO is going through some Trump-proofing in the chance that the Orange Menace is re-elected. That’s good planning, just in case.
• Alliance policymakers have moved control of major elements of military aid to Ukraine away from U.S. command to the NATO umbrella. They also appointed a new NATO secretary general who has a reputation as being especially agile with Dumpy’s unpredictable impulses.
• Additionally, they’re signing decade-long defense pledges with Ukraine to try to buffer military aid to Kyiv from the ups and downs of political change. Finally, they are pushing up their defense spending, Trump’s single biggest anger point when it comes to NATO.
• Fun Fact: When President Biden took office, only nine NATO Allies were spending at least 2% of their budgets on defense. Today, a record 23 NATO Allies are at or above the minimum level of 2% GDP for defense spending.
• Nice!
• Yesterday, the gathered leaders agreed that they will support Ukraine “on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership.”
• As it should be.
• Meanwhile, Joe Biden has his attention on the people of the country. He spent part of yesterday making sure that the federal government was there to help Texas after the effects of the recent hurricane. 
• President Biden wrote, “I’ve spoken to Mayor Whitmire, Judge Hidalgo, and spoke yesterday with Lieutenant Governor Patrick and FEMA Administrator Criswell regarding the devastating impacts of Hurricane Beryl on Texas. While speaking with the Lieutenant Governor, I immediately approved a Major Disaster Declaration.”
• That’s the kind of person you want as a leader when things go south.
• Got some good news for your bank account.
• US consumer prices did something in June that they haven’t done since the early part of the pandemic: they fell.
• Consumer prices dropped 0.1% on a monthly basis, helping to bring the annual rate of inflation to 3% from 3.3% in May.
• With price hikes slowing sharply last month, American consumers get relief, and the case is bolstered for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.
• Thanks Joe Biden!
• Speaking of the President, Biden will hold a news conference today at 6:30PM EDT as he fends off calls for him to step aside as the party’s presumptive nominee.
• I’ll repeat myself for anyone who missed it: I will gladly vote for Joe Biden in November. He’s a good man who has done a superlative job in leading the USA for the past going-on four years.
• And if Joe steps aside for a different Democratic candidate who shares our collective values, I will vote for that person.
• All of this shit should be obvious to any smart person: they’re sowing seeds of division in the Dem voter base. It’s the oldest trick in the book.
• What they didn’t count on: we’re going to vote Blue, no matter who, and we’re going to keep that fucking smelly fat piece of shit rapist criminal grifter away from the White House forever.
• Side note: amidst the turmoil of people panicking about whether or not Biden should remain the candidate, the latest Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll finds Biden and Dumples the Clown in a dead heat in the contest for the popular vote, with both candidates receiving 46 percent support among registered voters.
• Those numbers are nearly identical to the results of an ABC-Ipsos poll in April. Shrug.
• I heard at least person opine that they’d vote for a head in a jar over Dumpy, and you know, I get it.
• Speaking of the Creamsicle Criminal…
• More information is coming out about the direct link between Donald Trump and his Project 2025 plan to remove your rights as Americans.
• Remember, he recently wrote, “I have no idea who is behind it.” But that’s now a proven lie.
• Six of his former Cabinet secretaries helped write or collaborated on the 900-page playbook for Dump’s next term published by the Heritage Foundation.
• Four individuals who Dump nominated as ambassadors were also involved, along with several enforcers of his controversial immigration crackdown. And about 20 pages are credited to his first deputy chief of staff.
• In fact, at least 140 people who worked in the Trump administration had a hand in Project 2025, including more than half of the people listed as authors, editors and contributors to “Mandate for Leadership,” the project’s extensive manifesto for overhauling the executive branch.
• Dump lies, and his cult base sucks it up. All he knows how to do it lie. He has no other skills. Zero. None.
• Let’s cover the shitty news.
• We mentioned last Friday that surprisingly, a pro-choice group in Arkansas collected more than 100,000 signatures, exceeding the 90,704 needed for placing an amendment enshrining abortion rights to the state constitution on the ballot.
• But today, the Arkansas secretary of state on Wednesday rejected their entire effort. Secretary of State John Thurston said the group did not submit the required statements about paid signature gatherers.
• The proposed measure would have amended the Arkansas Constitution to explicitly prohibit the state government from being able to “prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion services” in any situation up to 18 weeks of pregnancy.
• All abortions are currently banned in Arkansas except for when necessary to save the life of the patient.
• Thurston said the group did not provide a statement confirming each canvasser was given proper documentation and a rundown of the state’s law before signature gathering began.
• So once again, despite the will of the people, Republicans are going to use every dirty trick in the book to force women to give birth, even when they’re impregnated via rape or incest.
• Vote every single one of them out of office this November.
• Relevant side note: state constitutional amendments to protect abortion access could be voted on in up to 11 states this year, including Colorado, Missouri, and Florida. Five states are confirmed to have them up for a vote and others are in varying stages of advancing similar measures.
• Arizona and Nebraska similarly announced earlier this month they had collected enough signatures for measures ensuring abortion access could be on their state ballots.
• Moving on to more shitty news of terrible politicians.
• Yesterday, the Republican-led House passed a proof-of-citizenship requirement for voter registration. Research shows noncitizens illegally registering and casting ballots in federal elections is exceptionally rare.
• The good news: the pointless legislation will die in Senate. The Biden administration also says it’s strongly opposed because there already are safeguards to enforce the law against noncitizen voting.
• It’s already a felony for noncitizens to register to vote in federal elections, punishable by fines, prison or deportation.
• What these Republicans envision is for people with brown skin to be stopped before voting and accused of being an “illegal.” That’s their dream come true.
• Let’s move on.
• Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has introduced articles of impeachment against Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.
• Yay!
• AOC has long criticized multiple conservative members of the Supreme Court, but the rhetoric of impeachment was amped up in the wake of recent rulings, including the court's decision on presidential immunity.
• She wrote, ”The unchecked corruption crisis on the Supreme Court has now spiraled into a Constitutional crisis threatening American democracy writ large. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito’s pattern of refusal to recuse from consequential matters before the court in which they hold widely documented financial and personal entanglements constitutes a grave threat to American rule of law, the integrity of our democracy, and one of the clearest cases for which the tool of impeachment was designed."
• Thomas acknowledged in his latest annual financial report that he had "inadvertently omitted" reimbursement for food and lodging expenses.
• Article III of the Constitution adds that judges "shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour."
• A simple majority vote is required for the House to adopt the articles — 218 votes — for impeachment.
• Just a note for context: first, a Republican-led House will never impeach these guys. Second, only one SCOTUS justice was ever impeached, and he was acquitted despite being a piece of shit.
• But I’m still glad AOC did this.
• Moving on to some international news.
• An Israeli strike hit a school complex near Khan Yunis where thousands of displaced Palestinians were sheltering and watching a soccer match.
• Dozens of Palestinians were killed or wounded. It was the fourth Israeli strike on a school in four days, which Israeli authorities try to justify by claiming that Hamas militants were "hiding" in the schools.
• This can’t continue.
• Back in the USA, a judge signaled he’ll dismiss Rudy Giuliani’s bankruptcy after a chaotic hearing yesterday in which the judge at one point threatened to cut off the ex-New York City mayor’s microphone for interjecting. 
• Judge Sean Lane said he’d make a final ruling on the complex matter on Friday afternoon. 
• Giuliani’s bankruptcy was precipitated by a jury’s $148 million verdict against him after he baselessly accused two women of 2020 election fraud. 
• Other members of the creditors committee include the electronic voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems, which Giuliani in 2020 also mired in conspiracy theories, and Noelle Dunphy, a former employee of the ex-mayor who sued him alleging sexual assault, harassment and nonpayment of wages. 
• If they dismiss the bankruptcy, all of Rudy’s assets, including the shirt off is back, will be for game for his creditors to swoop in and take.
• And I truly hope they do.
• And now, The Weather: “Adoration, doubt & a healing wound” by Vilde
• Let’s do a chart. It’s the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for July 1974, and I am five years old. I’m a first grader at a swanky private school in Marblehead, MA (my last experience in a private school, I should add). A girl named Katie Kurtz pulled me into a closet and kissed me. True story.
• 1. Rock The Boat (The Hues Corporation). 2. Sundown (Gordon Lightfoot). 3. Billy, Don't Be A Hero (Bo Donaldson And The Heywoods). 4. Rock Your Baby (George McCrae). 5. If You Love Me (let Me Know) (Olivia Newton-John). 6. Hollywood Swinging (Kool & The Gang). 7. You Make Me Feel Brand New (The Stylistics). 8. Annie's Song (John Denver). 9. You Won't See Me (Anne Murray). 10. On And On (Gladys Knight And The Pips). 11. The Air That I Breathe (The Hollies). 12. Be Thankful For What You Got (William DeVaughn). 13. Rikki Don't Lose That Number (Steely Dan). 14. One Hell Of A Woman (Mac Davis). 15. Rock And Roll Heaven (The Righteous Brothers). 16. Sideshow (Blue Magic). 17. Band On The Run (Paul McCartney And Wings). 18. The Streak (Ray Stevens). 19. Dancing Machine (Jackson 5). 20. Radar Love (Golden Earring).
• From the Sports Desk… Jasmine Paolini is in the midst of a battle with Donna Vekic in the Women’s semifinal as I write this. They went 2-6, 6-4 in the first two sets, and Paolini leads Vekic 5-4 in the third as I write this.

• Elena Rybakina plays Barbora Krejcikova in the other remaining Women’s match.
• Today in history… Ming admiral Zheng He sets sail to explore the world for the first time (1405). While exploring the North Atlantic Ocean in an attempt to find the Northwest Passage, Martin Frobisher sights Greenland, mistaking it for the hypothesized  island of “Frisland" (1576). Pluto moved inside the orbit of Neptune for the last since until 1979 (1735). The United States takes possession of Detroit from Great Britain under terms of the Jay Treaty (1796). The United States Marine Corp is reestablished after having been disbanded since the Revolutionary War (1798). A duel occurs in which the Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr mortally wounds former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (1804). Waterloo railway station in London opens (1848). Tijuana, Mexico is founded (1889). Fiat founded by Giovanni Agnelli in Turin, Italy (1899). Babe Ruth makes his MLB debut (1914). Former president of the United States William Howard Taft is sworn in as 10th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the only person ever to hold both offices (1921). The Hollywood Bowl opens (1922). ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee is first published (1960). First transatlantic satellite television transmission (1962). Martin Luther King Jr. is posthumously given the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1977). America's first space station, Skylab, is destroyed as it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean (1979). Richard Branson becomes the first civilian to be launched into space via his Virgin Galactic spacecraft (2021).
• July 11 is the birthday of Scottish king Robert the Bruce (1274), physician/censor Thomas Bowdler (1754), US President John Quincy Adams (1767), painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834), writer E. B. White (1899), actor Yul Brynner (1920), actor Tab Hunter (1931), fashion designer Giorgio Armani (1934), boxer Leon Spinks (1953), actress Sela Ward (1956), singer-songwriter Peter Murphy (1957), guitarist Richie Sambora (1959), singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega (1959), rapper Lil’ Kim (1975), and NFL player Joey Bosa (1995).

Lots of stuff happening, and I hope you’re a little more aware and awake than you were before reading this report. Thanks for checking out this news when you do. Enjoy your day.