Random News: October 10, 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 October 10, 2024, and it’s a Thursday for some reason. I’ve got a cup of coffee and I’m ready to take a look around and see what’s going on in this world of ours. Let’s do it.

• Hurricane Milton made landfall last night at about 8:30pm local time along Florida’s Gulf Coast. It hit as a Category 3 storm, with powerful winds, deadly storm surge, and potential flooding for much of the state.
• It hit maximum sustained winds of 120 mph when it roared ashore in Siesta Key, FL.
• Long before the hurricane even made landfall, over 130 tornado warnings were issued across Florida in an unusual outbreak. At least seven of them touched down.
• Most of the southern half of the state found itself under tornado warning at least once yesterday afternoon. The National Weather Service issued at least 98 tornado warnings across the state between noon and about 6pm.
• The tornadoes flipped a tractor-trailer, downed trees, and damaged roofs, homes, and a sheriff’s office far from Milton’s core.
• Milton crossed the state and continued on into the Atlantic Ocean, but not before knocking out power to more than three million customers and causing at least four deaths.
• Damage was widespread, and water levels may continue to rise for days, but Gov. Ron DeSantis said it was not “the worst-case scenario,” and I agree.
• The deadly storm surge feared for Tampa apparently did not materialize, though the storm dumped up to 18 inches of rain in some parts of the area. The worst storm surge appeared to be in Sarasota County, where it was 8 to 10 feet — which is bad, but lower than Helene caused.
• People in places like Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota, and Lee Counties should continue to  stay in place. There are downed power lines, trees in roads, blocked bridges, and flooding to contend with this morning.
• So all in all, while I’m sure it was terrible for many folks, it seems like Milton could have been worse.
• Can we address something real quick?
• I wrote — on multiple occasions, right here in this very column — about climate change facts.
• Some of them included the loud warnings over the past 12 months from scientists who measured the water temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and found it at its highest temperature in recorded history.
• And honestly, no one seemed to give a single shit, no matter what I said or how I said it. It was in headlines… on CNN, AP, Reuters, all the other major news outlets.
• And these warnings all ended with the same conclusion: that we’d be experiencing more and more severe weather, more frequently.
• Again, crickets.
• And now when I hear people saying that there was “no way we could have known” that destructive storms would be impacting us, or that the government is controlling the weather, I try to stay sympathetic.
• I really do.
• But you were all told this was coming. This exact shit. Like the proverbial deer in the headlights, most of you did nothing. And now mankind-assisted global climate change is going to kill you and people you love.
• When you keep laughing when I mention the carbon footprint we leave, or scoff at clean energy alternatives, or you buy big trucks and rev the engine to spew toxic gases into the air around you… these hurricanes and other severe weather events are the direct result.
• I don’t know what else to tell you.
• In a bright spot of news about the recent severe weather events, Taylor Swift has donated $5 million to Hurricane Helene and Milton relief efforts. This is per the CEO of Feeding America.
• In a world of Donald Trumps, be a Taylor Swift. There are always people willing to contribute to the world in a positive way.
• Speaking of Dump, the folks affected by Helene out to be very, very thankful the event happened under the Biden/Harris administration.
• They’ve provided 7,000 workers, 14,900,000 meals, 13,900,000 liters of water, and $137,000,000 of aid for people and state and local governments.
• Per Dump's Project 2025, that aid amount: 0 workers, 0 meals, 0 water, and $0 in aid. I’m not at all kidding here. It’s in the plan.
• If you don’t think another (perhaps larger) hurricane or other severe weather event won’t happen soon enough, you’re gambling on your life and that of your family if you allow Dump to take office.
• Had enough news about weather events? No? How about some severe space weather that’s about to nail us?
• A severe solar storm is headed to Earth that could stress power grids even more as the U.S. deals with major back-to-back hurricanes.
• The NOAA issued a severe geomagnetic storm watch for today into Friday after an outburst from the sun was detected earlier this week. Such a storm could temporarily disrupt power and radio signals.
• Power plants and orbiting spacecraft will need to take precautions. FEA has been notified about possible power disruptions, while they’re still in the midst of dealing with Helene and Milton.
• The last big solar storm in May produced dazzling auroras across the Northern Hemisphere,  and resulted in no major disruptions. If you were wondering. the sun is near the peak of its current 11-year cycle, the reason for all the recent solar activity.
• I’m gonna be Debbie Downer here and remind you that when you see beautiful aurora in the night sky, that’s Earth’s magnetosphere acting as a shield from high-speed solar radiation particles that would otherwise boil our oceans and fry us like fish sticks.
• Let’s move on to something more comforting… like the 2024 general election. Eek.
• I’m doing my best to avoid looking at any of the constantly fluctuating polls. It’s a sure way to drive yourself insane, paying too much attention to that.
• But here is a tangible note: Vice President Kamala Harris has raised more than $1 billion in less than three months as a presidential candidate.
• No other presidential candidate in history is believed to have ever raised so much money so fast.
• Let’s move on to news coverage of a Dumples the Clown fan.
• Patrick Byrne, ex-CEO of Overstock and an ally to the former President, has fled to Dubai, claiming that the government of Venezuela has a $25 million bounty on him — but, perhaps not coincidentally, is also facing a $1.7 billion lawsuit leveled by the Dominion voting machine company.
• Dubai does not have an extradition treaty with the USA.
• Hmm.
• Let’s move on.
• Today is World Mental Health Day, an international day for global mental health education, awareness, and advocacy against social stigma.
• First celebrated in 1992, the annual awareness program brings attention to mental illness and its major effects on people's lives worldwide.
• Let me tell you something. We tend to shove mental health under the rug, or only think about it in regard to its most severe and extreme forms.
• But I don’t know anyone — not a single person — who hasn’t dealt with the effects of anxiety and/or depression in various forms and degrees. And the number of people I know who’ve been afflicted by bipolar or dissociative issues is far greater than you might assume.
• We all agree that health care is essential. Diagnosis and treatment of illness or injuries is a part of everyone’s lives. What could be more important that your ability to use your mind, or being overwhelmed by your emotions to the point that you’re not an effective human being?
• My message to folks who suffer from mental health disorders: you’re not alone. And there are ways to get help.
• Let’s move on.
• Do you know about microstamping? It’s an innovative technology that marks ammunition casings with a unique fingerprint, allowing police to trace casings left at crime scenes back to the gun that fired them.
• While microstamping is both an effective and affordable way to help law enforcement solve crimes where no gun is recovered, the gun industry has consistently fought against any efforts to implement this critical tool for decades.
• I have to ask: why would anyone care if their shell casing is found on a shooting range, or near a deer carcass? As far as I'm concerned, the only people who would be against this are those who use guns to harm other people.
• In other news…
• The Tropicana, the third-oldest casino on the las Vegas Strip, closed in April after welcoming guests for 67 years.
• Yesterday morning, it was gone for good as crews imploded the structure to make way for a $1.5 billion baseball stadium for the relocating Oakland Athletics, part of the city's latest rebrand into a sports hub.
• The Tropicana was the last true mob building on the Las Vegas Strip. Yes, the Flamingo is also from the city’s mafia-run era on the Strip and is still there, but the original structure is are long gone. The casino was completely rebuilt in the 1990s.
• Moving on.
• Do you like raccoons? I like raccoons. I think most people like them.
• But sheriff’s deputies in Washington’s Kitsap County got a 911 call from a woman being bullied by a hundred raccoons swarming her home near Poulsbo.
• She had to flee her property after dozens of the creatures descended upon it and were acting aggressively. She’d started feeding a family of them decades ago and it was fine until about six weeks earlier, when the number showing up went from a handful to around 100.
• They were becoming increasingly more aggressive, demanding food, and they would hound her day and night — scratching at the outside of her home, at the door. If she pulled up her car, they would surround the car, and surround her if she went outside at all.
• And now, The Weather: “Climbing” by Caribou
• Instead of a chart, here’s the Zak Claxton Hurricane Milton playlist, in weather phenomenon order.
• Steal My Sunshine (Len). Ain’t No Sunshine (Bill Withers). Windy (The Association). Blowin in the Wind (Bob Dylan). The Wind Cries Mary (Jimi Hendrix). Against the Wind (Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band). Ride Like The Wind (Christopher Cross). Here Comes the Rain Again (Eurythmics). Singin' In The Rain (Gene Kelly). Only Happy When It Rains (Garbage). Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head (BJ Thomas). Rainy Days and Mondays (Carpenters). Shadows in the Rain (The Police). Who’ll Stop the Rain (Creedence Clearwater Revival). Riders on the Storm (The Doors). Like a Hurricane (Neil Young). Rock You Like a Hurricane (Scorpions). 
• From the Sports Desk… MLB divisional series playoffs continued yesterday with all remaining eight teams playing their respective game 3 and 4.
• The big news: The 6-seed Mets beat the 2-seed Phillies 4-1 and punched their ticket to the NLCS. They won the series 3-1. Also in the National League, the 1-seed Dodgers staved off elimination by the 4-seed Padres, giving them an 8-0 beatdown and forcing a game 5 (scheduled for Friday).
• In the ALDS, the Tigers shut out the Guardians 3-0, taking a 2-1 lead in their ALDS series. The Yankees hung on to a 3-2 win, putting them up 2-1 in their series with the Royals. Both AL game 4’s happen today.
• Today in history… Sten Sture the Elder, the Regent of Sweden, with the help of farmers and miners, repels an attack by King Christian I of Denmark (1471). The crew of Christopher Columbus's ship, the Santa Maria, attempt a mutiny (1492). The Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 20,000–30,000 in the Caribbean (1780). Triton, the largest moon of the planet Neptune, is discovered by English astronomer William Lassell (1846). U.S. President Woodrow Wilson triggers the explosion of the Gamboa Dike, completing major construction on the Panama Canal (1913). U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower apologizes to Ghanaian finance minister Komla Agbeli Gbedemah after he is refused service in a Delaware restaurant (1957). The Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty comes into effect (1963). U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew resigns after being charged with evasion of federal income tax (1973). The United States Congress approves the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (2002).
• October 10 is the birthday of Japan emperor Saga (786), organist Johann Nicolaus Bach (1669), physicist Henry Cavendish (1731), composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813), actress Helen Hayes (1900), artist Alberto Giacometti (1901), pianist Thelonious Monk (1917), filmmaker Ed Wood (1924), playwright Harold Pinter (1930), singer-songwriter John Prine (1946), actor Ben Vereen (1946), musician Midge Ure (1953), singer-songwriter David Lee Roth (1954), singer Tanya Tucker (1958), actress Julia Sweeney (1959), singer Crystal Waters (!964), politician Gavin Newsom (1967), NFL player Brett Favre (1969), race car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1974), musician Lzzy Hale (1984), MLB player Andrew McCutchen (1986), NFL player Geno Smith (1990), and NFL player Courtland Sutton (1995).

That seems like enough news for now, and I have things to do regardless. Enjoy your day.