Random News: July 24, 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 24, 2024, and it’s a Wednesday. I awoke today, showered, dressed, and went downstairs to make my coffee. Guess what the ants decided to attack? My fucking coffee machine. No reason. I consider this provocation a declaration of war, and shall respond with the wrath of a thousand gods. No ant shall be spared. Anyway, here’s the news.

• President Biden will be addressing the nation tonight from the Oval Office at 8PM ET/5PM PT.
• Joe is going to discuss his decision to drop his 2024 Democratic reelection bid, as well as what lies ahead and how he will finish the job for the American people.
• I’m looking forward to it. In as much as we are obviously excited and energized by the campaign of Kamala Harris, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to President Biden.
• And I’m willing to bet the old guy has some plans that may surprise you in a good way. Biden returned to the White House yesterday after testing negative for COVID.
• Let’s move on.
• Something that occurred to me very belatedly… as a Californian, I’ve been familiar with and voting for Kamala Harris going back to 2010, when I voted for her to become our state’s Attorney General, then re-elected her to that job in 2014, and then as our Senator in 2016, when she replaced Barbara Boxer. And then, of course, I was happy to help elect her as the Vice President of the USA in 2020.
• Other Californians, those in the Bay Area, go back with her even longer to her election as San Francisco AG in 2004.
• For those of you just getting to know her better right now, I envy you… you’ll find yourself very impressed by this woman’s intellect, kindness, communication skills, and obvious leadership qualities. We Californians have been aware of this for a long time.
• In related news…
• You all know I hate polls and do not trust them, and that distrust is based on their tangible mistakes in polling methodology that’s played out heavily in the past two presidential elections.
• That being said, a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted on Monday and Tuesday has Kamala Harris as the leading candidate with 42% support, Dumples the Clown at 38%, and Mr. Wormy Brain RFK Jr. at 8%, with a margin of error at ±3%.
• Removing Wormy Brain from the equation, Harris still leads Dump 44% to 42%.
• And we’ve only just begun.
• Yesterday, Harris rallied voters in battleground Wisconsin on her first presidential campaign event since securing enough delegate pledges for the Democratic nomination. She used the rally to sharply frame her race against Dumples the Clown.
• The song “Freedom” by Beyoncé — which was used by direct permission of the artist, unlike the music stolen by the Dump camp — played as Harris greeted an excited crowd, holding up white and blue signs that read “Kamala” and chanting her name.
• ”We'll stop Donald Trump's extreme abortion bans because we trust women to make decisions about their own body and not have the government tell them what to do," Harris said to raucous applause. "And when Congress passes the law to restore reproductive freedoms, as president of the United States, I will sign it into law."
• FUCK YES. LET’S GO.
• As of the latest updates this morning, at least 2,904 pledged delegates have endorsed Vice President Harris. The number needed to secure the Democratic nomination is 1,976, which she passed within a day of her announcement.
• I was very happy to note that last night, Senator Bernie Sanders has officially endorsed Kamala Harris for President.
• We’re now down to a tiny fraction of the Democratic leadership who has yet to endorse her.
• Thus far, it’s a go from 23 of 23 governors (100%); 197 of 212 House members (93%); and 46 of 51 senators (90%). Only 20 of the 286 have not endorsed. And of those, two of them are under major criminal investigation, and another is Joe Manchin.
• The youth vote — call it Gen Z if you must — seems very excited about Kamala.
• I came prepared with quotes to back this up.
• “I think Kamala Harris is the only one that makes sense. She will get the votes Biden couldn’t. She could get the Black, Asian, Latino, women’s, LGBTQ+ and youth votes. She stands more for progress and equality than an old white dude and if she wins it will be historic.” — Will, 22, construction worker from Portland, Oregon.
• “I have so much renewed passion and hope now that Kamala is the endorsed candidate. My concern is we are facing a self-fulfilling prophecy; that people think it’s an impossible task to elect a Black woman to the highest office and as a result it becomes one. I think it’s quite the opposite actually. I feel Kamala is just what we need to energize young voters and get them to the polls.” — Lizzie, 28, engineer from Idaho.
• “If she can restore Roe v Wade, she will have 110% of my support.” — Kaleb Stanton, 24, grocery store worker from New Mexico.
• How are things going for El Dumpo? Not so good.
• Elon Musk, who’d previously pledged to give $45 million a month to the Dump campaign, backed out of the offer yesterday, saying that he doesn’t “subscribe to cult of personality.”
• To be fair, I should note that Elmo is still heading up a new super political action committee (PAC) to fund the Republican candidate.
• I think the reason for reneging on the offer is more basic: Telsa profit in the second quarter plunged more than 40% from a year ago, as the electric vehicle company has faced both more EV competition from established automakers and a slowing of overall EV sales growth.
• Also, how weird is it that Elmo would give all that money to a guy who rails against electric vehicles at every opportunity?
• Let’s move on to some other news.
• Kimberly Cheatle, who had served as Secret Service director since August 2022, resigned yesterday in the aftermath of the assassination attempt against Dumpy.
• “I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” she said in an email to staff. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director.”
• The Secret Service is now recommending that all of Dump’s future rallies be held at indoor locations where security can be better maintained. Probably a good idea.
• Speaking of resignations…
• Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) announced that he plans to resign effective August 20
• Thank God.
• The longtime Democratic lawmaker was convicted July 16 of taking bribes from three business executives who showered him and his wife with cash, gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz for his help securing deals with foreign officials and trying to derail several criminal investigations in New Jersey.
• What an asshole. The guy who will be elected to replace him in November, Rep. Andy Kim, is a good guy.
• Moving on.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is speaking before Congress today in hopes of bolstering U.S. support for continuing Israel’s offensives against Hamas and other adversaries. 
• A huge crowd of protestors have been present. Hundreds of protesters organized by a Jewish group staged a sit-in at a congressional office building, crying, “Not in our name.”
• The speech is also not being attended by several key Democratic lawmakers. But Netanyahu will get a warm welcome from Republican lawmakers who arranged his speech in the House chamber.
• Moving on.
• Part of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming is closed following a hydrothermal explosion yesterday morning.
• No injuries were reported after the incident, but it looked pretty gnarly on the video footage I saw.
• And now, The Weather: “Before You Were Born” by Bo and the Locomotive
• A huge RIP to multi-instrumentalist John Mayall, one of the chief architects of the British blues revival of the 1960s, who died yesterday at 90.
• His impact on music — bringing the sound of American blues music to England and thereby launching what became the most influential factor on music of the ‘60s and ‘70s — cannot be overstated.
• Let’s do a chart. It’s’ the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for July 1962. That’s so long ago that neither myself nor the next President of the USA, Kamala Harris, were born yet.
• 1. The Stripper (David Rose and His Orchestra). 2. Roses Are Red (My Love) (Bobby Vinton). 3. I Can't Stop Loving You (Ray Charles). 4. Palisades Park (Freddy Cannon). 5. It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin' (Johnny Tillotson). 6. Al Di La' (Emilio Pericoli). 7. Wolverton Mountain (Claude King). 8. Snap Your Fingers (Joe Henderson). 9. Johnny Get Angry (Joanie Sommers). 10. Playboy (The Marvelettes). 11. Cindy's Birthday (Johnny Crawford). 12. Sealed With A Kiss (Brian Hyland). 13. A Steel Guitar And A Glass Of Wine (Paul Anka). 14. The Wah Watusi (The Orlons). 15. Sharing You (Bobby Vee). 16. Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes) (Dee Dee Sharp). 17. Theme From Dr. Kildare (Three Stars Will Shine Tonight) (Richard Chamberlain). 18. I'll Never Dance Again (Bobby Rydell). 19. Stranger On The Shore (Mr. Acker Bilk). 20.(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance (Gene Pitney).
• From the Sports Desk… trying to get myself primed up for the Olympics, which have their opening ceremonies this Friday.
• Here’s a short list of some US athletes you may want to keep an eye on during the games.
• Simone Biles, Suni Lee (gymnastics). Sha'Carri Richardson, Noah Lyles, Ryan Crouser, (track and field). Diana Taurasi, LeBron James, Steph Curry (basketball). Katie Ledecky, Caeleb Dressel (swimming). Sophia Smith, Walker Zimmerman (soccer). Coco Gauff (tennis). Scottie Scheffler, Nelly Korda (golf). Carissa Moore, John John Florence (surfing). Jajaira Gonzalez (boxing). Jagger Eaton (skateboarding).
• USA! USA!
• Today in history… Louis VII of France lays siege to Damascus (1148). Mary, Queen of Scots, is forced to abdicate and be replaced by her one-year-old son James VI (1567). Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founds the trading post at Fort Pontchartrain, which later becomes the city of Detroit (1701). Tennessee becomes the first U.S. state to be readmitted to Congress following the American Civil War (1866). Hiram Bingham III re-discovers Machu Picchu, "the Lost City of the Incas” (1911). The Kellogg–Briand Pact, renouncing war as an instrument of foreign policy, goes into effect (1929). Operation Gomorrah has British and Canadian airplanes bomb Hamburg by night, and American planes bomb the city by day, killing more than 30,000 people and destroying 280,000 buildings (1943). Apollo 11 splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean (1969). The United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that President Richard Nixon did not have the authority to withhold subpoenaed White House tapes and they order him to surrender the tapes to the Watergate special prosecutor (1974). George Brett playing for the Kansas City Royals against the New York Yankees, has a game-winning home run nullified in the "Pine Tar Incident” (1983). Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after defeating Jeremy Hunt in a leadership contest, succeeding Theresa May (2019).
• July 24 is the birthday of politician Simón Bolivar (1783), novelist Alexandre Dumas (1802), composer Ernest Bloch (1880), pilot Amelia Earhart (1897), activist/politician Bella Abzug (1920), cartoonist Pat Oliphant (1935), comedian Ruth Buzzi (1936), comedian Gallagher (1946), actor/comedian Michael Richards (1949), actress Lynda Carter (1951), director Gus Van Sant (1952), politician Claire McCaskill (1953), politician Charlie Crist (1956), NBA player Karl Malone (1963), MLB player Barry Bonds (1964), actress Kristin Chenowith (1968), singer Jennifer Lopez (1969), actress Rose Byrne (1979), actress Elizabeth Moss (1982), actress Anna Paquin (1982), and conservationist Bindi Irwin (1998). 

As usual in recent times, so much is happening (and so quickly) that I barely scratch the surface of important information that’s flying around. We do what we can in the time that we have. That’s all we can do. Enjoy your day.