Random News: October 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 October 7, 2024, and it’s a Monday. It’s a bizarre thing how some mornings it can take longer than others to snap out of the weirdness of sleep and dreams. What helps me is coffee (duh) and writing this news for you. I guess it’s a firm anchor to the waking world of reality, for good or bad.

• Guess what I did yesterday?
• I voted!
• Yes, in the 2024 General Election. I’m done. I did it.
• The ballots for the voters in my household arrived on Saturday, and we spent a couple of hours yesterday reviewing in detail every political candidate, judge, local office holders, and local, county, and state ballot measures.
• We take this shit seriously, which probably doesn’t surprise you. It was a little roundtable discussion between myself, Kat, and my 25-year-old son, reviewing every ballot item one by one, considering the tax implications, checking the endorsements, and all that stuff.
• And then after sealing up and signing our ballots, we took the short stroll down the street to the local park, where an official ballot dropbox is conveniently located.
• A couple of notes that pertain to California… you can look up these facts for your own state.
• First, it is NOT illegal to do a “ballot selfie” in my state. This was made clear by law in 2018. I could have, if I’d wanted to, snapped a pic of my ballot and posted it.
• Second, it is completely illegal to do electioneering near any polling place… even a drop box! So whether you prefer a Harris/Walz t-shirt or a MAGA cap, don’t wear it within 150 feet of any place where voting occurs.
• Anyway… that’s it. We’re done. Since we’re signed up for BallotTrax here in California, we’ll get text or email notification when our ballot arrives and has been counted. Easy as can be.
• In other news…
• I’d love to not be starting each day with news of disputers, past or pending, but I should make mention that Milton rapidly strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane today, with sustained winds at 150mph, and it’s on a direct path toward Florida population centers including Tampa and Orlando.
• It’s threatening a dangerous storm surge in Tampa Bay and setting the stage for potential mass evacuations less than two weeks after a catastrophic Hurricane Helene swamped the coastline.
• The storm is expected to stay at about its current strength for the next couple of days. A hurricane warning was issued for parts of Mexico’s Yucatan state, and much of Florida’s west coast was under hurricane and storm surge watches.
• School districts in Pasco, Sarasota, and Hillsborough counties announced that schools will be closed starting today.
• Be prepared and be safe, especially friends in places like Sarasota, Bradenton, Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater.
• Back on the topic of Helene aftermath, Deanne Criswell — who leads the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) — said yesterday that false claims and conspiracy theories spread most prominently by Dumples the Clown are “demoralizing” aid workers and creating fear in people who need recovery assistance.
• The biggest danger to those poor people right now might be the Republican Party itself.
• “It’s frankly ridiculous, and just plain false. This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people. It’s really a shame that we’re putting politics ahead of helping people, and that’s what we’re here to do. We have had the complete support of the state,” said Criswell.
• Due to these baseless and provably false claims from Dump and other members of the far-right MAGA cabal, there’s a sense of fear and mistrust from residents against the thousands of FEMA employees and volunteers on the ground.
• And those are the people there to help them directly. It’s just sad.
• Just last night, Dumpy made claims on social media that FEMA is giving all of its funds to migrants. He continues to make things worse and worse for America.
• Meanwhile, President Biden ordered the Department of Defense to move an additional 500 active-duty troops into western North Carolina to aid in the recovery efforts.
• The additional troops bring the total number to nearly 1,500, after the president ordered nearly 1,000 soldiers to the area late last week.
• Well done, Joe.
• Let’s move on.
• Today is the one-year anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel. Somber memorial ceremonies were being held in the country and around the world.
• Hundreds of people gathered at the site of the Nova festival to honor those killed there that day. Another memorial was held at a Kibbutz Nir Oz, where one in four residents were killed or abducted by Hamas.
• Israel’s ensuing war in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 people and triggered a humanitarian crisis, catalyzing a widening regional conflict. The Israeli military launched a new offensive in northern Gaza this weekend, and struck multiple locations in the enclave overnight, including a hospital compound.
• Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff — a Jewish man, I should note — are scheduled to plant a tree on the grounds of the vice president’s residence in Washington in honor of the victims.
• Hopefully recent antisemitic sentiment in the USA won’t be an issue today… but Donnie Dump recently said that if he loses the presidential election to Harris on November 5, “the Jewish people would really have a lot to do with that.”
• Let’s move on with some terrible breaking news form the Supreme Court, back in session today on the first day of their new term.
• They let stand a decision barring emergency abortions that violate the law in Texas, which has one of the country’s strictest abortion bans.
• Without detailing their reasoning, the justices kept in place a lower court order that said hospitals cannot be required to provide pregnancy terminations that would violate Texas law.
• The Biden administration had asked the justices to throw out the lower court order, arguing that hospitals have to perform abortions in emergency situations under federal law. The administration pointed to the Supreme Court’s action in a similar case from Idaho earlier this year in which the justices narrowly allowed emergency abortions to resume while a lawsuit continues.
• Please… for the love of women across this great country… vote for Harris/Walz and let’s put an end to this insanity of women’s health care and reproductive rights being stolen from them.
• We need some better news after that shit. Here’s some optimistic political news from an unlikely state: Nebraska.
• Republicans are looking to avoid a disaster in the Senate race there amid signs that an independent candidate could be giving Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) a run for her money.
• Independent Senate candidate and political newcomer Dan Osborn is challenging Fischer for her seat, betting that Nebraskans are hungry for a nonpartisan senator in a state Dumpy won by close to 20 points in 2020.
• Cook Political Report noted last week that internal polling released by Osborn’s campaign showed the independent ahead of Fischer by 1 point. That would be a huge — and totally unexpected— win, if it happens.
• Moving on.
• Kamala Harris was the highly anticipated guest on the popular ‘Call Her Daddy’ podcast with host Alex Cooper.
• Harris reinforced her unwavering stance on abortion, saying, "One out of three women in our country are in states with abortion bans," and described the challenges faced by women in these states, particularly mothers.
• On that topic, she also addressed claims about late-term abortions from that Orange Piece of Shit, calling them "a bold face lie" and "outrageously inaccurate."
• Harris also touched on many of the hot topics surrounding her candidacy, including the Republican statements and implications about childless women being of less value than others.
• And now, The Weather: “Multi Level Marketing” by Cool Band
• From the Sports Desk… the NFL is finally falling into some more predictable patterns in week 5. Still, there were some absolutely bonkers upsets, like the Cardinals beating the Niners, and the Giants beating the Seahawks.
• Tonight’s MNF matchup should be a good game, with New Orleans at Kansas City.
• The MLB Divisional Round continued yesterday, with the Phillies barely squeezing by the Mets 7-6; they’re tied at one win each. The Dodgers got pummeled by the Padres 10-2; that series is also tied 1-1.
• Today in history… The epoch reference date origin of the modern Hebrew calendar (3761 BC). The charter for the Province of Massachusetts Bay is issued (1691). King George III issues the Royal Proclamation of 1763, closing Indigenous lands in North America north and west of the Alleghenies to white settlements (1763). American militia defeat royalist irregulars led by British major Patrick Ferguson in South Carolina (1780). Cornell University holds opening day ceremonies; initial student enrollment is 412, the highest at any American university to that date (1868). Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving vehicle assembly line (1913). Georgia Tech defeats Cumberland University 222–0 in the most lopsided college football game in American history (1916). The McCollum memo proposes bringing the United States into the war in Europe by provoking the Japanese to attack the United States (1940). The U.S. manned space-flight project is renamed Project Mercury (1958). Four men from the Palestine Liberation Front hijack the MS Achille Lauro off the coast of Egypt (1985). Fox News Channel begins broadcasting (1996). Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, is found tied to a fence after being savagely beaten by two young adults in Laramie, Wyoming (1998). The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan begins with an air assault and covert operations on the ground (2001). Asteroid 2008 TC3 impacts the Earth over Sudan, the first time an asteroid impact is detected prior to its entry into earth's atmosphere (2008). Hamas attacks Israel, resulting in the deaths of around 1,200 people and more than than 240 hostages being taken, initiating the Israel–Hamas war (2023).
• October 7 is the birthday of writer John Marston (1576), composer William Billings (1746), musician/comedian Uncle Dave Macon (1870), activist Joe Hill (1879), physicist Neils Bohr (1885), religious leader Elijah Muhammad (1897), Nazi Heinrich Himmler (1900), actress June Allyson (1917), archbishop/activist Desmond Tutu (1931), TV host Joy Behar (1942), USMC colonel/war criminal Oliver North (1943), singer-songwriter Kevin Godley (1945), singer-songwriter/guitarist John Mellencamp (1951), politician Vladimir Putin (1952), cellist/educator Yo-Yo Ma (1955), audio engineer/producer Mike Shipley (1956), TV host Simon Cowell (1959), activist/journalist Dan Savage (1964), singer-songwriter Toni Braxton (1967), singer-songwriter/guitarist Thom Yorke (1968), NFL player Charles Woodson (1976), singer-songwriter/guitarist Lockett Pundt (1982), rapper/producer Flying Lotus (1983), MLB player Evan Longoria (1985), and MLB player Mookie Betts (1992).

That seems like enough for now. Please stay safe, and please have a plan to vote. I have a tremendous since of relief, having already submitted my ballot and being done with that part of the process. Enjoy your day.