Random News: January 14, 2025

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 January 14, 2025, and it’s a Tuesday. Waking up to a peaceful-seeming day here in my little coastal town. I always remind myself how fortunate I am to live here. I truly am, even when not far away, times are not nearly so calm.

• Winds have picked back up this morning in Southern California, causing a new wave of concern for residents in danger of the ongoing fires.
• The current status…
• The Palisades Fire is still just 17 percent contained, and has burned through more than 23,700 acres in and around Pacific Palisades. That fire has destroyed more than 5,300 structures since it began last week.
• The Eaton Fire is 35 percent contained. This has been the most deadly of the fires, having killed at least 16 people and burning through 14,117 acres. More than 7,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed by this fire.
• And a new fire that broke out last night — this one in Ventura County just to the north of LA — is called the Auto Fire. It is 0 percent contained and quickly grew to 56 acres.
• Due to the winds, fire danger throughout Southern California remains at a high, particularly over the next few days.
• I’ll again state that we are in no danger at all here in Redondo Beach from the current set of fires, and for the moment on this brisk morning, our air quality remains in the good zone.
• Do not worry about me. Worry about my neighbors.
• Side note…
• If you’ve watched any news coverage of the firefighting efforts, you’ve seen aircraft dropping hundreds of thousands of gallons of hot-pink fire suppressant.
• Fire suppressants — most often used to fight forest fires — are an invaluable tool. But what’s in them, and are they safe?
• They're a mixture of water, ammonium phosphate — essentially fertilizer — and iron oxide, added to make the retardant visible. They help starve a fire of oxygen and slow the rate of burn by cooling and coating vegetation and other surfaces.
• Unless human life or public safety are threatened, the Forest Service bans use of aerial suppressants over waterways and endangered species habitats due to potential health effects on fish and other wildlife.
• Is using it ideal? No.
• But if your choices are the possible damage caused by retardant versus the immediate risk of fire — or the exposure to a toxic mix of microscopic particles from fires that penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream and cause breathing and heart problems — the retardant is the lesser evil by far.
• That pink shit saved a lot of people’s lives over the past week.
• What some people aren’t thinking about — but we in Southern California are all too aware — is that there’s a new race against time caused by the wind and burn scars in the Palisades and Eaton fires: removing the debris.
• With many neighborhoods reduced to piles of blackened debris for blocks, concerns are rising about hazardous materials and other debris from the burned properties if winter storms bring rainfall to the areas.
• As Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service explains, “With these fires and burn scars, water essentially just runs over the top of it. It can’t be saturated. It runs over the top of the land without any impediment with it, and can carry anything in its way with it.”
• In December 2017, the Thomas Fire devastated Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Post-fire mudslides caused by winter storms that January led to major damage, claiming 23 more lives and displacing tens of thousands of residents in Montecito and nearby communities.
• The executive order that Governor Gavin Newsom issued on Sunday fast-tracks the debris removal from the scarred areas. If not dealt with quickly, it could result in damaging debris flows, mudslides, and flash floods that could harm surrounding communities even beyond the burn areas.
• In fire news I wish I didn’t have to mention (but I do)…
• The MAGA Bullshit Brigade has been out in full force since the very start of our fire catastrophe, led by their Liar-in-Chief.
• An example…
• A social post from a woman named Mila Joy lamented that Oregon had sent 60 fire trucks to assist us, but our state wouldn’t let them in because “California is unsure of EMISSIONS on the trucks,” and then opined that California is a “JOKE.”
• Except none of that is true. Fortunately, the Oregon State Fire Marshall was there to correct her.
• “We sent 75 fire engines. Your statement about our teams not being allowed into California is false. Our teams arrived yesterday and are working around the clock to help our neighbors.”
• Here’s some actual information that will likely be helpful to our neighbors here.
• There’s a rumor going around that if you receive donations from a GoFundMe page or other crowdfunding platform, FEMA will not give you financial assistance.
• Welp…
• That is pretty much true. By law, FEMA cannot duplicate benefits you receive from another source. You can read this directly on the FEMA web site if you want.
• If you receive money for a specific disaster-related expense — home repairs, funeral expenses, other emergency needs — you may not be able to receive FEMA aid for the same expense.
• All survivors are encouraged to apply for assistance regardless so FEMA can review your specific case. But it’s something to keep in mind. FEMA does offer multiple types of assistance.
• Let’s move on.
• The report by special counsel Jack Smith was released by Attorney General Merrick Garland this morning. In it, Smith and his team state that they believe they could have secured a conviction against Dumples the Criminal Clown over his attempt to subvert the 2020 election.
• The more than 130-page report spells out in extensive — if largely already known — detail how Dumpy tried to overturn the 2020 election. Smith’s team states in no uncertain terms that Dump criminally attempted to subvert the will of the people and overturn the election results.
• Dump tried his hardest to stop the DOJ from releasing the report. It was submitted to Congress and the public after a court hold blocking its release expired at midnight.
• Dump was, however, successful in blocking the department’s plans to release volume two, which covers the classified documents investigation.
• Smith’s report states, “As set forth in the original and superseding indictments, when it became clear that Mr. Trump had lost the election and that lawful means of challenging the election results had failed, he resorted to a series of criminal efforts to retain power.”
• You can read the whole report yourself, if you want.
• One reason you can read that report is due, surprisingly, to Florida district judge Aileen Cannon.
• She allowed the Justice Department to release the first part of the inquiry into Donnie Dump, covering the investigation and charges against Trump tied to the 2020 presidential election.
• Cannon had denied a motion by Dump's former co-defendants who sought to block the release of special counsel Jack Smith's report on the election interference case.
• In case you have selective memory, allow me to remind you that Dump was charged with election interference in Washington, D.C., and with hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago golf motel and refusing to return them to the FBI.
• Why wasn’t he prosecuted and jailed? Because the Supreme Court declared that a President — or at least Donnie Dump — is above the law, like some king.
• In somewhat related news…
• Yesterday the Justice Department released the final report of special counsel David Weiss, the Dump-appointed federal prosecutor elevated to special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland, about the investigation of Hunter Biden.
• Which doesn’t matter to me. They can also release reports on Amy Carter, Tricia Nixon Cox, Jenna Welch Bush, Eric Trump, or any other offspring of a president. I didn’t vote for their kids.
• In the report Weiss wrote that he stood by his decisions to prosecute the president's son on tax and gun charges.
• He led a yearslong investigation into Hunter Biden that ultimately led to a jury conviction on felony gun charges in Delaware federal court and a guilty plea to tax evasion charges in California.
• In December, the president pardoned his son and blamed his prosecutions on pure politics, to which Weiss responded, "The President's characterizations are incorrect based on the facts in this case, and, on a more fundamental level, they are wrong."
• I have no problem with the report being released. Justice should apply to everyone equally, with no consideration of partisanship or any other factor.
• Moving on.
• As I mentioned the other day, the Senate confirmation for Dumpy’s cabinet picks began this morning.
• I’ll report on the results when they’re available, but news thus far seems like the Democratic side of the Senate is skeptical about the qualifications of many nominees, and it’s not going to be awn easy path for all of them to waltz into their new gigs.
• In other news…
• A few days after Jimmy Carter’s funeral, U.S. flags at Dumpy‘s private Mar-a-Lago golf motel are back to flying at full height.
• And Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered flags to be raised to full-staff in that state as well for Dumpy’s upcoming inauguration.
• Federal law says that flags will be flown at half-staff for 30 days after the death of a current or former U.S. President. So fuck Jimmy Carter, I guess, is what Dump and Abbott are saying.
• Let’s move on to some other news via the Supreme Court.
• Yesterday, they declined to hear an appeal from oil and gas companies trying to block lawsuits seeking to hold the industry liable for billions of dollars in damage linked to climate change.
• Good.
• The order allows the city of Honolulu’s lawsuit against oil and gas companies to proceed. The city’s chief resilience officer, Ben Sullivan, said it’s a significant decision that will protect “taxpayers and communities from the immense costs and consequences of the climate crisis caused by the defendants’ misconduct.”
• Governments in states including California, Colorado, and New Jersey are seeking billions of dollars in damages from things like wildfires, rising sea levels, and severe storms. The lawsuits come during a wave of legal actions in the U.S. and worldwide seeking to leverage action on climate change through the courts.
• Keep that fight going, please.
• And now, The Weather: “Switch Over” by Horsegirl
• From the Sports Desk… they had to move the final game of the NFL’s Wild Card playoff round  last night from Los Angeles to Arizona for obvious reasons.
• And the Rams opened a can of extreme whoop-ass on the Vikings, winning by 27-9.
• Sam Darnold got sacked eight times for 73 yards lost and threw a pick. Not a stellar postseason outing. The Vikings had a surprisingly great season, but that’s how the playoffs go.
• The Rams’ defense is scary good. They look like Super Bowl contenders.
• So now we’re all set for next weekend’s Divisional Round with the final four teams in the AFC and NFC respectively.
• Saturday January 18: 4-seed Texans at 1-seed Chiefs. 6-seed Commanders at 1-seed Lions.
• Sunday January 19: 3-seed Ravens at 2-seed Bills. 4-seed Rams at 2-seed Eagles.
• Current odds favorites: KC (-7.5), DET (-8.5), BAL (-1), PHI (-6).
• Today in history… King Henry III of England — my 24th great grandfather — marries Eleanor of Provence — my 24th great-grandmother (1236). The "Fundamental Orders", the first written constitution that created a government in the USA, is adopted in Connecticut (1639). Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain (1784). Giacomo Puccini's ‘Tosca’ opens in Rome (1900). NBC's long-running morning news program ‘Today’ debuts, with host Dave Garroway (1952). Josip Broz Tito is elected the first President of Yugoslavia (1953). The Hudson Motor Car Company merges with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation forming the American Motors Corporation (1954). The Human Be-In takes place in San Francisco, CA's Golden Gate Park, launching the Summer of Love (1967).  Queen Margrethe II of Denmark ascends the throne, the first Queen of Denmark since 1412 and the first Danish monarch not named Frederick or Christian since 1513 (1972). Elvis Presley's concert Aloha from Hawaii is broadcast live via satellite, and sets the record as the most watched broadcast by an individual entertainer in television history (1973).
• January 14 is the birthday of politician Mark Antony (83 BC), queen Joan I of Navarre — my 23rd great-grandmother (1273), instrument maker Gottfried Silbermann (1683), military defector Benedict Arnold (1741), physician/phhilosopher/polymath Albert Schweitzer (1875), actor/director/producer Hal Roach (1892), novelist John Dos Passos (1896), television personality Andy Rooney (1919), singer-songwriter/pianist Allen Toussaint (1938), actress Faye Dunaway (1941), journalist Nina Totenberg (1944), singer-songwriter/guitarist/producer T Bone Burnett (1948), NFL player/actor Carl Weathers (1948), journalist Maureen Dowd (1952), singer Geoff Tate (1959), guitarist/songwriter Zakk Wylde (1967), rapper/actor LL Cool J (1968), actor Jason Bateman (1969), and singer-songwriter/musician Dave Grohl (1969).

That’s plenty of news for now. I have another day that just clusterfuck packed with work and meetings and deadlines. But, ya know, if it wasn’t hard work, I probably wouldn’t get paid for it. Enjoy your day.