Random News: November 27, 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 November 27, 2024, and it’s a Wednesday. It’s also the day before Thanksgiving here in the USA, and while I have a whole bunch of work to knock out, I should be (knock on wood) mostly left alone without meetings or other interruptions.

• I thought you’d like to know my planned menu for tomorrow.
• It’s probably the same as nearly all of yours.
• Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, yams, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, bread rolls, an pumpkin pie
• Tomorrow, you can expect my annual turkey cooking guide.
• Let’s do the news.
• Yesterday, President Biden announced that the U.S. helped secure a ceasefire deal in Lebanon, which would end fighting between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
• His announcement came as Israel's Cabinet approved the ceasefire after urging from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The war between Israel and the Iran-backed group has killed almost 3,800 people in Lebanon over the last year and left about 16,000 others wounded.
• Under the deal reached, the ceasefire became effective as of 4am this morning local time. As Biden noted, the ceasefire does not apply to the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas. 
• Joe said, “This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities. What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations will not be allowed, I emphasize, will not be allowed, to threaten the security of Israel ever again.”
• The sounds of warplanes, missiles and artillery were replaced with dancing and singing in parts of Lebanon as news of the ceasefire was announced.
• Despite the truce, it is not clear when people in Lebanon and Israel will be able to return home. But it’s still pretty great news regardless.
• Let’s move on.
• Today is one of — if not the — busiest travel days of the year. I once again urge you to take care while getting where you need to go.
• There’s a cold front in the Midwest and South. The winter storms that hit California and Nevada's Sierra Nevada moved to Colorado and Utah today, where up to 36 inches of snow is expected to fall in parts of the mountains.
• Snowfall on Thursday and into Friday is possible in northern New York and Vermont, and rain and high-elevation snow could be seen on Thanksgiving in northwestern Connecticut, western Massachusetts and eastern New York.
• And a surge of cold this weekend will send freezing weather to the Great Lakes Midwest and Northeast with high temperatures in the 20s expected in Chicago, Pittsburgh, and elsewhere in the region.
• Anyway… stay warm and dry and safe, please.
• Moving on.
• Businesses in the USA are scrambling to get ahead of the massive tariffs threatened by Donnie Dump. And here’s the thing: even if it’s just bullshit, like so much of what comes out of Dump’s mouth, the effect is the same: higher prices across the country.
• We’re not talking about small brands here. Tool and hardware maker Stanley Black & Decker said it had initiated conversations with its customers about price hikes tied to the tariffs. Executives at retail giants such as Walmart have discussed similar plans.
• The National Retail Federation (NRF) has warned that tariffs along the lines of Dump's campaign proposals would cost US consumers between $46 billion and $78 billion more annually for apparel, toys, furniture, household appliances, footwear, and travel goods.
• Wait until you see what will happen happen to grocery bills.
• Anyway, I just want you to know that we told you this would happen. No acting surprised after it does.
• In other news…
• Rudy Giuliani completely freaked out in court yesterday, screaming at the judge presiding over the collection proceeding for the $146 million defamation judgment against him — and complained he's having a hard time making ends meet.
• After U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman said Rudy had not been complying with court orders to surrender his assets, Giuliani lost his shit, ranting, “The implications you are making against me are wrong. I have no car, no credit card, no cash, everything I have is tied up. They have put stop orders on my business accounts, and I can’t pay my bills.”
• The judge said Giuliani did not appear to be indigent and warned him against any further outbursts.
• Womp womp… so sad, too bad. But Rudy is truly being the asshole we know him to be here.
• Example: Rudy turned over a 1980 Mercedes-Benz SL 500, but while he had surrendered the car, he didn’t include the title. The judge said the title must be turned over. “A car without a title is meaningless,” Liman said, questioning why Giuliani hadn't been able to get a new one.
• ”Your client is a competent person. He was the U.S. attorney in the district. The notion that he can't apply for a title certificate ... " the judge told Cammarata before Giuliani cut him off and started screaming and waving and losing his mind.
• "I did apply for it! What am I supposed to do, make it up myself? Your implication that I have not been diligent about it is totally incorrect," he continued, before complaining about his financial woes.
• Hahahahahaha! Fuck that guy.
• Moving on.
• I mention this next news item about our incoming President purely for comedy reasons.
• Dumpy has announced that John Phelan as his choice to lead the Department of the Navy. Who is he?
• Phelan is a GOP megadonor with no military experience. He’s an art collector, and is the co-founder of MSD Capital and the head of private investment firm Rugger Management. 
• How is he qualified to run the US Navy? “John holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School, and is a truly brilliant guy! His incredible knowledge and experience will elevate the lives of the brave Americans who serve our Nation,” said Dementia Don.
• I mean… what can I say about that? It speaks for itself.
• Let’s move on.
• Republican members of Congress are already getting things lined up to enact the sick measures outlined in Dump’s Project 2025.
• Yesterday, U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) introduced a bill to abolish the U.S. Department of Education. He’s calling it the “Returning Education to Our States Act.”
• His bill has been referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
• How will this affect the Senator’s home state? In fiscal year 2022, 40.9% of the state’s education budget came from federal funds.
• All totaled, the DOE supports South Dakota to the tune of more than $540 million annually. It’s hundreds of millions of dollars that South Dakota could miss out on if the DOE was fully cut.
• Good luck to us all under the incoming fascist regime.
• And now, The Weather: “Buried Alive” by Snowy
• From the Sports Desk… the Dodgers are already making moves to defend their title, signing free agent left-handed pitcher Blake Snell to a five-year, $182 million contract.
• Snell gives the World Series champions a frontline starter for their title defense next season after they survived October by depending heavily on their bullpen with just three healthy starters. Snell is a two-time Cy Young Award winner.
• Today in history… James Pratt and John Smith are hanged in London; they are the last two to be executed for sodomy in England (1835). Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer leads an attack on Cheyenne living on reservation land (1868). Also sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss is first performed (1896). In New York City, the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is held (1924). CARE is founded to send CARE Packages of food relief to Europe after World War II (1945). The Soviet space program's Mars 2 orbiter releases a descent module. It malfunctions and crashes, but it is the first man-made object to reach the surface of Mars (1971). The United States Senate votes 92–3 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States (1973). In San Francisco, city mayor George Moscone and openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated by former supervisor Dan White (1978). A hydrogen atmosphere is discovered on the extrasolar planet Osiris by the Hubble Space Telescope, the first atmosphere detected on an extrasolar planet (2001). 
• November 27 is the birthday of Aragon King Ferdinand I (1380), physicist Anders Celsius (1701), actress/playwright/abolitionist Fanny Kemble (1809), painter Frank Dicksee (1853), environmental activist Katherine Sleeper Walden (1862), Israel president Chaim Weizmann (1874), novelist/critic James Agee (1909), sportscaster Chick Hearn (1916), car dealer Cal Worthington (1920), drummer Al Jackson, Jr. (1934), actor/martial artist Bruce Lee (1940), singer-songwriter Eddie Rabbit (1941), singer-songwriter/guitarist Jimi Hendrix (1942), trumpeter Randy Brecker (1945), human glob of goo Steve Bannon (1953), keyboardist/composer Lyle Mays (1953), engineer/educator Bill Nye (1955), lawyer/diplomat Caroline Kennedy (1957), MLB player/manager Mike Scioscia (1958), actress Robin Givens (1964), and actor Jaleel White (1976).

Time to get to work. Enjoy your day.