Random News: August 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 August 7, 2024, and it’s a Wednesday. I’ve been riding a wave of optimistic energy for the past 24 hours since Kamala Harris named Tim Walz as her running mate. There are plenty of other things to be aware of, though, so let’s take a look at what’s happening.

• But first…
• Yesterday morning, when I was writing these bullets, felt like a blur. As I said, I was riding an intense wave of happiness and optimism, and still am.
• Democrats from all ends of the party’s spectrum have speedily coalesced around Walz as the pick, from progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to more moderate figures like Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO). 
• Even former Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) praised the pick, saying in a statement that Walz “will bring normality back to the most chaotic political environment that most of us have ever seen.”
• I love AOC’s post… “Dems in disconcerting levels of array,” she wrote.
• Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that the Minnesota governor “is wonderful.”
• “He’s right down the middle,” Pelosi said. “He’s… a heartland of America Democrat.”
• You can really tell how good of a choice Harris made with Walz by how extremely upset the right-wing MAGA types are.
• When Donnie Dump screamed that Walz will “unleash HELL ON EARTH,” people responded with joyful photos of the governor, including one of him laughing heartily while holding a piglet.
• The pick was also praised across the board by leaders in business and by celebrities (with a list too long to include here).
• When Harris and Walz made their first public appearance together later that day at a rally in Philadelphia, PA, the place was exploding with happiness.
• Walz himself may have described it best. Moments after taking the stage for their first rally together yesterday, he thanked Vice President Harris for putting her trust in him as her new running mate. But, he added, “maybe more so, thank you for bringing back the joy.”
• I agree. I know I’m hopeless in my overall optimism, but I can truly see the country moving back toward a vibe of kindness, ethical action, positivity, and yes, joy.
• Donations to the campaign skyrocketed in the hours after Walz was announced as the ticket’s VP pick. ActBlue pulled in $34,678,618 in small-dollar donations in the past 24 hours.
• Harris and Walz are now on a whirlwind tour of battleground states. Today, they’ll be swinging through Eau Claire, WI and Detroit, MI.
• In a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released last night, Harris grabbed an enormous lead on Dump among independent voters.
• Harris is up nine points with that group (53%-44%) after being down 14 points with them when she launched her campaign just two weeks ago.
• Overall, Harris has built a 51%-48% lead over Dump. That’s a four-point improvement for Harris. She maintains a three-point lead (48%-45%) when third-party choices are included.
• Unsurprisingly, Harris leads by 13 points with women (55%-42%). Disappointingly, she is still losing men by nine points (54%-45%).
• C’MON YOU FUCKING DICKS. Man up and vote for the better candidate.
• Okay, let’s move on. There are many things happening.
• President Joe Biden met his senior national security team on Monday as concerns of a possible Iranian retaliatory attack on Israel grew.
• Biden said he had been briefed on preparations to support Israel should it be attacked, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken said officials were working around the clock to prevent an escalation.
• Iran has blamed Israel for the assassination of Hamas' political leader Ismail Haniyehand and vowed severe retaliation. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the assassination… but they’re not denying it either.
• Numerous countries, including the US and UK, have also told their citizens to leave Lebanon, from where it is feared Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia and political movement, could play a role in any response.
• It’s not good. Shit like that leads to full out war. Keep your fingers crossed that the world can remain peaceful.
• Moving on.
• Primaries were held in several states yesterday. Perhaps the most notable result was the defeat of progressive Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) by St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell.
• It’s a deep blue district, so Bell will easily win in the general election. But it is another indication that the division of the Democratic party over Israel and Palestine will continue to be a driving factor in US elections.
• In Michigan, a crucial Senate battle is now in place between former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R) and Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin in the November election.
• Slotkin and Rogers have long been considered the front-runners for their respective party nominations. Slotkin enters with a massive fundraising advantage, while Rogers has the backing of national Republican groups and Dumples the Clown.
• Speaking of voting, the Texas GOP is so scared of the momentum of the Harris/Walz ticket that they’ve purged over two million voters from the rolls.
• I beseech you, please check your voter registration at vote.org before it’s too late.
• In other news…
• Yesterday, a federal appeals court upheld Maryland's decade-old ban on military-style firearms commonly referred to as assault weapons.
• In a happy surprise (for me), a majority of 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges rejected gun rights groups' arguments that Maryland's 2013 law is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.
• The U.S. Supreme Court had already declined to review this case in May. Fuck off, ammosexuals.
• Let’s move on to that brilliant king of business (laughs), Elon Musk.
• His social media platform X has sued a group of advertisers, alleging that a “massive advertiser boycott” deprived the company of billions of dollars in revenue and violated antitrust laws.
• That will definitely bring them back. Can you imagine being sued by some random company for NOT advertising there? What a fucking joke.
• The targets of Musk’s insane suit include the World Federation of Advertisers and member companies Unilever, Mars, CVS Health, and Orsted.
• In November 2023, about a year after Musk bought the company, a number of advertisers began fleeing X over concerns about their ads showing up next to pro-Nazi content and hate speech on the site in general, with Musk inflaming tensions with his own posts endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
• And then Musk told them all to fuck off (literally, in those words). Now he’s suing to try and force them to spend money on his brand.
• What a fucking idiot.
• And now, The Weather: “stairs” by Retail Drugs
• Let’s do a chart. This one is from the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart for this date in 1994, when Governor Tim Walz married his wife Gwen.
• He was 30 at the time. I was 25.
• 1. The Lion King (Soundtrack). 2. The Sign (Ace Of Base). 3. Forrest Gump (Soundtrack). 4. Purple (Stone Temple Pilots). 5. We Come Strapped (MC Eiht Featuring CMW). 6. Voodoo Lounge (The Rolling Stones). 7. August And Everything After (Counting Crows). 8. It Takes A Thief (Coolio). 9. Regulate...G Funk Era (Warren G). 10. Superunknown (Soundgarden). 11. Not A Moment Too Soon (Tim McGraw). 12. All-4-One (All-4-One). 13. Candlebox (Candlebox). 14. Who I Am (Alan Jackson). 15. For The Love Of Strange Medicine (Steve Perry). 16. Smash (The Offspring). 17. Chant (The Benedictine Monks Of Santo Domingo De Silos). 18. Reality Bites (Soundtrack). 19. Hints, Allegations & Things Left Unsaid (Collective Soul). 20. Dookie (Green Day).
• A follow-up on a Non-Sports Desk story.
• Commentators on Fox News shows have continued to spread false claims that two female Olympic boxers, Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting, are actually male.
• Even as recently as Monday, Fox News commentator Clay Travis said it’s “completely indefensible that these two individuals have been allowed to compete as women while they are biologically men.”
• Khelif and Lin are biological females, and the International Olympic Committee has said that both boxers are eligible as women to participate. A spokesperson for the IOC said the Algerian boxer “was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female and has a female passport.”
• So far, the network has not issued any corrections or clarifications about the false claims. that’s the kind of shit that cost Fox hundreds of millions when reporting false claims about voting in the 2020 election.
• And I look forward to them having to pay out the ass for these false claims as well.
• While Fox News has not issued any corrections, the Boston Globe apologized for a “significant error” after a headline in the newspaper’s print edition Friday read “Transgender boxer advances,” referring to Khelif.
• “We recognize the magnitude of this mistake and have corrected it in the epaper, the electronic version of the printed Globe. This editing lapse is regrettable and unacceptable and we apologize to Khelif, to Associated Press writer Greg Beacham, and to you, our readers.”
• That’s how you do it.
• From the Sports Desk… Team USA has now reached 86 in their total medal count for the Paris Olympics.
• New gold medal additions include Men's 1500m (Cole Hocker), Women's 200m (Gabrielle Thomas), and Women's 68kg wrestling (Amit Elor).
• We picked up a couple more silvers with Sam Kendricks in the Men's Pole Vault and Annette Echikunwoke in the Women's Hammer Throw.
• Additional bronze medals went to Yared Nuguse (Men's 1500m), Brittany Brown (Women's 200m), and Omari Jones (Men's 71kg boxing).
• Today in history… coronation of King Otto I of Germany (936). George Washington orders the creation of the Badge of Military Merit, later renamed the Purple Heart (1782). The US Department of War is created (1789). The first women do a road trip from New York to San Francisco (1909). The WWII Battle of Guadalcanal begins (1942). Jimmy Carter declares a federal emergency over toxic waste at Love Canal (1978). The first American soldiers arrive in Saudi Arabia in the Gulf War (1990). Space Shuttle Discovery STS-85 launches (1997). Barry Bonds breaks the all-time home run record (2007). 
• August 7 is the birthday of Hungarian aristocrat/serial killer Elizabeth Báthory (1560), activist/labor leader Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (1890), paleontologist Louis Leakey (1903), MLB player Don Larsen (1929), saxophonist/composer Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1935), humorist Garrison Keillor (1942), singer-songwriter B. J. Thomas (1942), singer-songwriter Bruce Dickinson (1958), actor David Duchovny (1960), entrepreneur Jimmy Wales (1966), MLB player Édgar Rentería (1975), actress Charlize Theron (1975), NFL player Shane Lechler (1976), actress Abbie Cornish, (1982), MLB player Mike Trout (1991), and NFL player Jalen Hurts (1998).

That’s enough for now. Much more to come. Enjoy your day.