Random News: October 15, 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 15, 2024, and it’s a Tuesday. Waking up feeling pretty good about things in general. Yes, it’s a crazy world, but at some point, I decided that walking around being angry, frustrated, frightened, or annoyed all the time is no way to spend a short life. I prefer finding appreciation and gratefulness for many things around me that merit it. That being said, I always prefer to be aware of things, good or bad, and act accordingly.

• First note…
• The election is three weeks from today. I repeat, the 2024 US general election is exactly three weeks from today, on November 5.
• I cannot emphasize strongly enough the importance of this election. Your entire future stands on the edge of a precipice — along with that of your family and friends.
• And now, the news.
• Vice President Kamala Harris will be interviewed by Fox News anchor Bret Baier tomorrow, October 16, in Pennsylvania.
• It will be her first sit-down with the network, and her first interview with a news outlet outside of her ideological comfort zone since becoming the Democratic nominee.
• Harris has previously granted interviews to CNN and CBS’ “60 Minutes,” as well as friendly venues including ABC’s “The View” and Howard Stern’s radio show.
• The Fox News interview is slated to air at 6pm ET on Wednesday. Baier is Fox News’ chief political anchor and one of the few prominent people on the network whose identity isn’t completely associated with far-right conservative commentary.
• Dumpy got super upset when he heard about the interview, most likely soiling his diaper while attacking Harris and Fox News on social media yesterday, saying the network “has grown so weak and soft on the Democrats.”
• He’s now the one avoiding all media where his lies can be fact-checked in real time.
• Something happened to Dumpy last night. Something that merits your awareness.
• He had what was supposed to be a town hall-type event in Pennsylvania last night. It was moderated by the very weird South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem. Yes, the one who shot and killed her puppy.
• It began sort of normally, with Dump taking questions from preselected attendees and giving meandering non-answers on how he would address housing affordability and help small businesses.
• But then, Dumples the Clown, slurring his words a bit, abruptly blurted out, “Let’s not do any more questions. Let’s just listen to music. Let’s make it into a music. Who the hell wants to hear questions, right?”
• Wait, what?
• But that’s what happened. He stood there onstage for 39 minutes, swaying, waving his arms around, looking like he had no idea where he was or what was happening.
• The music went on. Five songs. Six. Eight. Occasionally Dump would point to the dwindling crowd. Noem stood beside him, nodding with her hands clasped. Dump stayed in place onstage, slowly moving back and forth.
• Finally after nine fucking songs, ending with “November Rain” by Guns N’ Roses, he wandered away offstage. That was it. That was his town hall.
• Someone must have eventually told him that he looked like a completely demented insane person at the event — which, of course, he is. So at 1am this morning, he sent out a panicked message via social media.
• “l've put out more Medical Exams than any other President in History, and aced two Cognitive Exams (the Doctor stated that my "cognitive exams were exceptional!"). I am far healthier than Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden, but especially, Kamala.”
• Fucking WOW. Holy shit man. 
• This morning, Harris shared the video of Dump slow dancing with himself, writing just three words.
• “Hope he’s okay.”
• Snort. Anyway, there’s your Republican candidate for President.
• As long as we’re speaking about that guy — and won’t it be great when we no longer have to? — some follow-up from his latest huge blunder against his own supporters.
• Per reports, it’s now been confirmed that the reason thousands of people were stranded in the desert over the weekend after Dumpy’s little rally near Coachella, CA was because the bus company was not paid by Dump.
• Throughout the night, they made repeated requests for payment. They were brushed off each time and left.
• This is very consistent for Dump and his campaign. He constantly hires people and firms, and then simply doesn’t pay them after the services were rendered. Can you imagine being a business of any kind who didn’t demand full payment up front from him?
• Let’s move on.
• In breaking news this morning, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled that county election boards are required by law to certify elections, rejecting an appeal by a sitting county co-superintendent of elections to delay or refuse finalizing results based on suspicion of fraud or a discount.
• This is a huge win for Democrats and for democracy.
• The lawsuit that brought McBurney’s response was initially filed by Fulton County election board member Julie Adams, who voted against certifying the most recent primary election in Fulton County.
• McBurney said that Georgia’s election codes and laws are set to ensure elections are fair and orderly, but that some election officials are working against that outcome.
• Per his order this morning, Georgia law requires that Adams and her fellow board members certify election results, saying specifically that the state’s constitution does not give them the legal right to refuse.
• Refusing to certify the results of the people’s votes is one of the key ways that Dump was going to use to illegally name himself the winner regardless of how people voted. Now? Not.
• Moving on.
• Following up on our story from yesterday in regard to FEMA employees being threatened due to misinformation from Dumpy, a North Carolina man has been arrested and charged with Going Armed to the Terror of the Public, a misdemeanor.
• The sheriff’s office began investigating William Jacob Parsons on Saturday after receiving a call that a man commented about possibly harming FEMA employees working after the disaster of Hurricane Helene in the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock area.
• Parsons is now free on a $10,000 secured bond. But why would this man be so enraged as to make armed threats against the very agency who’s there to help him and his neighbors?
• We all know why.
• The result was a full-day delay of FEMA’s door-to-door outreach program. FEMA wanted to ensure it protected staff on the ground while the agency worked with local law enforcement officials to assess the threats and how serious they were.
• Shaking my head. Let’s move on.
• At least half a dozen new lawsuits were filed yesterday against musician, producer, and complete scumbag Sean “Puffy” Combs, accusing him of sexual assault against men, women, and a 16-year-old boy.
• The suits were all filed anonymously by John Doe and Jane Doe plaintiffs in federal court in the Southern District of New York.
• The latest lawsuits are part of an expected wave of litigation against Combs by Houston-based attorneys, who previously said they were representing at least 120 alleged victims of Combs, including minors.
• This man was literally fucking (and sex trafficking) men, women, and children. I really don’t want to hear anyone speak in his defense. Though maybe it would be interesting to see the list of people who attended his parties.
• I’m just saying.
• Let’s move back to the election… and some jiu-jitsu maneuvers by Kamala Harris.
• She’s already been leveraging the power of memes and social media to reach a wider, younger audience and cast the Harris/Walz ticket as funny, relatable, and capable to young voters.
• And now, she’s using Dump’s own words and strange behaviors to sink his floundering ship.
• Example: in a TikTok video posted Sunday, the Harris campaign created a carousel of photos of Dumples, poking fun at his fake tan to the tune of Sabrina Carpenter's hit song "Please Please Please," in which she sings about doing her "makeup so nice."
• As the nation braced for Hurricane Milton, the campaign posted a TikTok making fun of a Dump press appearance in which he called a hurricane "one of the wettest we've seen from the standpoint of water."
• Dumpy has, at times, engaged with memes and often shares them on his social media, including ones that implied an endorsement from Taylor Swift.
• Like most bullies, Dumples is fine with throwing around insults, but runs away crying when they’re thrown back at him. How many times have you heard him say, “We’re not weird!” in recent weeks?
• Methinks the weirdo doth protest too much.
• Another thing you’ll be hearing from Harris: she’s going to make sure you know who Dump is referring to as “the enemy within.”
• That Bloated Orange Turd is a potential tyrant-in-waiting who just this past weekend threatened to jail his political opponents and to use US armed forces against American citizens who don’t support him.
• Do you MAGAs agree? Is that what a President should do?
• Do you consider me and people like me to be “the enemy within?” I really hope not. We’re all Americans who want very similar things… a prosperous and peaceful life for ourselves and our families, reasonable standards in health care, a fair justice system. Stuff like that.
• Anyway.
• One other election note, a happy one.
• Early voting begins today in Georgia, which means that President Jimmy Carter lived long enough to fulfill his final wish: to vote for Kamala Harris.
• The 100-year-old will cast his vote today. I’m happy for him… and for all of us.
• Moving on.
• Hey Texas. I see you there.
• I want to tell you that the poll numbers in the Senate race between Ted Cruz and Collin Allred are very close. Cruz has a slight lead but it’s within the margin of error.
• If you want to get rid of Ted, you have a real chance in three weeks. if I thought it wasn’t very possible for Allred to win, I wouldn’t be mentioning it here. Throw all your support behind Allred, any way you’re able.
• Let’s move on.
• A 26-year-old guy from England is dead after trying to get content for his social media so he can be a super cool influencer. 
• In doing so, he plunged to his death from the tallest bridge in Spain. 
• The cable-stayed bridge in Talavera de la Reina, 70 miles southwest of Madrid, is 620 feet high. Can I just please beg you… don’t do stupid shit for attention, okay? No one gives a shit about you.
• As you probably know, this is far from the first time that people died trying to impress others on their YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and related accounts.
• In July, an Indian travel vlogger died when she slipped and fell into a 300-foot gorge at a beauty spot south of Mumbai while she was shooting Instagram videos.
• In May 2023, a 17-year-old boy fell to his death from a bridge in Los Angeles that he was scaling in an apparent social media stunt.
• And plenty of people have died while just trying to take a selfie with zero situational awareness… like stepping backward off a cliff while getting that perfect pic to post.
• Try to continue living. Don’t die or get hurt for reasons of vanity or pure idiocy. Thank you.
• And now, The Weather: “Blot” by Vilde
• From the Sports Desk… the 6-seed Mets made a roaring comeback against the Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLCS, winning 7-3. The series even evened up at 1-1, and it heads to New York for Game 3 on Wednesday.
• In Game 1 of the ALCS, the 1-seed Yankees dominated the 2-seed Guardians 5-2, taking a 1-0 lead in the series. Game 2 is today.
• In Monday Night Football, a tough back-and-forth battle between the Bills and Jets ended up with a 23-20 Buffalo victory after Aaron Rodgers threw a crucial interception with two minutes to go in the game.
• Ha ha.
• Six weeks into the season, we can see some distinct signs of who’s got the momentum.
• AFC: Chiefs (5-0), Texans (5-1), Ravens (4-2), Bills (4-2), and Steelers (4-2).
• NFC: Vikings (5-0), Lions (4-1), Falcons (4-2), Commanders (4-2), Packers (4-2).
• Today in history… Adoption of the Gregorian calendar begins, eventually leading to near-universal adoption (1582). Queen Marie Antoinette of France is tried and convicted of treason (1793). The Edison Electric Light Company begins operation (1878). Dutch dancer Mata Hari is executed by France for espionage (1917). The New York Municipal Airport, later renamed LaGuardia Airport, is dedicated (1939). Luis E. Miramontes completes the synthesis of norethisterone, the basis of an early oral contraceptive (1951). FORTRAN, the first modern computer language, is first shared with the coding community (1956). The Black Panther Party is created by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale (1966). Wayne Gretzky becomes the all-time leading points scorer in the NHL (1989). The Cassini probe launches from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn (1997). The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes down 733.08 points, or 7.87%, the second worst percentage drop in the Dow's history (2008). 
• October 15 is the birthday of poet Virgil (70 BC), astronomer Asaph Hall (1829), philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844), boxer John W. Sullivan (1858), politician Paul Reynaud (1878), author Mario Puzo (1920), businessman Lee Iacocca (1924), singer-songwriter/guitarist Barry McGuire (1935), actress Linda Lavin (1937), musician/activist Fela Kuti (1938), actress Penny Marshall (1943), singer-songwriter/pianist Chris de Burgh (1948), skateboarder Stacy Peralta (1957), chef Emeril Lagasse (1959), actor Dominic West (1969), politician Wes Moore (1978), and NFL player Blaine Gabbert (1989).

That is plenty of news for now. Last note: please vote. Thank you. Enjoy your day.