Random News: January 15, 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 15, 2025, and it’s a Wednesday. It’s another calm morning so far here in lovely Redondo Beach, CA. It won’t last — I’m a week out from a major business event and I’m busy keeping everyone reassured while trying not to freak out myself. But overall, I have nothing to complain about. if anything, I’m just feeling grateful that I’m not dealing with the real-world challenges that so many of my neighbors face.

• A quick update on the fire situation here in Los Angeles County and surrounding areas.
• All of SoCal is still under a red flag warning — indicating temperatures are warm, humidity is low and strong winds are expected. It’s expected to last until late this afternoon and stretches all the way from from our state’s Central Coast 275 miles south to the border with Mexico.
• They also noted a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” was in effect for an area that includes parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
• Even though the fires are by no means under control — the Palisades Fire is only at 19% containment, and the Eaton Fire at 45% — the thoughts are now shifting to the recovery and rebuilding aspects of this disaster.
• About 40,000 people have applied for assistance from Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has already disbursed more than $8 million for immediate needs like water, food, baby formula and gas.
• The initial money goes directly into bank accounts. Don’t believe any MAGA misinformation bullshit about vouchers. It’s not true.
• While the federal government will pay 100% of the firefighting and recovery costs in the first 180 days, that doesn’t mean FEMA will cover 100% of individual families’ costs — the maximum amount FEMA can provide is $43,600.
• And I promise, not everyone gets the maximum.
• FEMA offers up to $770 to help cover the evacuees’ immediate needs, but its larger grants generally aren’t available until after insurance companies pay out.
• Someone who receives a maximum grant from FEMA might be eligible for another $10,000 grant from the state.
• For other needs beyond what insurance and FEMA covers, the Small Business Administration offers low-interest loans. Businesses can borrow up to $2 million, while homeowners can borrow up to $500,000 for rebuilding and another $100,000 for personal property.
• There will be long-lasting impacts from the fires that extend well beyond the immediate needs of survival for families here, but we’ll get into the another time.
• For now, moving on.
• I’m not going to cover every moment of the Senate confirmation hearings of Dumpy’s cabinet picks. My assumption is that in a Republican-led Congress, most if not all of them will be confirmed regardless of qualifications or possible conflicts of interest.
• A moment during the hearing for Pete Hegseth, Dumpy’s choice for defense secretary, would have been comedic if it wasn’t so horrible.
• Decorated military veteran Sen. Tammy Duckworth — who lost both of her legs defending our country — grilled Hegseth over whether he had the “breadth and depth of knowledge” needed to lead international negotiations.
• She asked him if could name one member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, describe what type of agreement the U.S. had with the countries, and how many nations were in the bloc.
• Hegseth responded that he couldn’t tell Duckworth the exact number of ASEAN nations, but that “I know we have allies in South Korea and Japan in AUKUS with Australia.”
• Duckworth answered, “None of those three countries are in ASEAN. I suggest you do a little homework.”
• Indeed.
• Six more hearings are in process now, including former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi for U.S. attorney general and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) for secretary of state. Other committees are weighing the selections of John L. Ratcliffe for CIA director, Chris Wright for energy secretary, Sean P. Duffy for transportation secretary, and Russell Vought for director of the Office of Management and Budget.
• Shrug. As I said, at this point, let them make that bed and sleep in it. Whatever transpires as a result is 100% on them.
• Moving on.
• It’s been awhile since we covered international news. Lots going on here at home, you see. However…
• This morning, South Korean law enforcement officials detained impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his imposition of martial law last month.
• In a video message recorded before he was escorted to the headquarters of an anti-corruption agency, Yoon lamented that the "rule of law has completely collapsed in this country," but said he was complying with the detention warrant to prevent clashes between law enforcement officials and the presidential security service.
• Except hundreds of law enforcement officers entered the residential compound in their second attempt to detain him, and encountered no meaningful resistance from presidential security forces.
• A series of black SUVs, some equipped with sirens, were seen leaving the presidential compound amid police escorts. A vehicle apparently carrying Yoon later arrived at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials in the nearby city of Gwacheon.
• Something tells me things won’t go well for Yoon here on out.
• In other news…
• In an extraordinarily assholistic move, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he is going to order that the flags at the Capitol, which are at half-staff due to the death of former President Jimmy Carter, be raised for Dumpy's inauguration — defying a federal law and a White House proclamation.
• He confirmed his decision in a social post, writing, "On January 20th, the flags at the Capitol will fly at full-staff to celebrate our country coming together behind the inauguration of our 47th President, Donald Trump. The flags will be lowered back to half-staff the following day to continue honoring President Jimmy Carter.”
• Incredibly thoughtless and tacky. MAGA is consistent in that they disregard laws they don’t like while implementing cruel laws that hurt Americans.
• In other news…
• Dumples the Clueless Clown says he'll establish a new “external revenue service” federal agency to collect tariffs, duties and all other foreign revenue.
• He said he will establish the agency on Inauguration Day, with the goal of making other countries pay "their fair share."
• So, stupid thing about this number one: we already have this. Those responsibilities are currently handled by the Commerce Department, the U.S. Trade Representative, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 
• And then the other stupid thing…
• Tariffs are taxes levied on imported foreign goods. Higher tariffs are passed on to the consumer, and if enacted, Dump's tariff hikes will almost certainly mean higher costs for Americans.
• All of this is utter bullshit made up by a madman with no understanding of how the world works.
• Moving on.
• What’s in your wallet? Hopefully not a Capital One card.
• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit yesterday against Capital One, accusing the bank of “cheating millions of customers out of more than $2 billion in interest.”
• Federal regulators said in the lawsuit that the giant bank deliberately underpaid savings account interest, even as rates rose. 
• Capital One’s ads had many of the same promises that other banks offer for high-yield savings accounts: no fees, no minimum deposits, and the money would earn much more in interest than in traditional bank accounts.
• And then they fucked everyone.
• From the Heath News desk…
• Following up on a story we reported previously, today the Food and Drug Administration announced it had decided to revoke Red 3's authorization to be added to foods, over concerns about how the food coloring is linked to cancer in laboratory animals. 
• While the FDA has long said that it did not think evidence of Red 3 causing cancer applied to humans, officials said their hand was forced by a law requiring the agency to pull additives that are cancerous in animals.
• Better safe than sorry, I say. 
• Moving on.
• The Supreme Court is hearing a challenge right now to the Texas law that requires age verification — via government-issued ID or face scan — for porn sites.
• Texas says it’s attempting to limit harm to minors, while the porn industry argues the law violates the First Amendment.
• The court isn’t being asked to judge if something is obscene. The industry wants the “strict scrutiny” standard to apply — meaning government restrictions on speech must be both backed by a compelling government interest and narrowly tailored.
• Justice Amy Coney Barrett doesn’t seem to be buying it.
• “Kids can get online porn through gaming systems, tablets, phones, computers. Let me just say that content filtering for all those different devices, I can say from personal experience, is difficult to keep up with. And I think that the explosion of addiction to online porn has shown that content filtering isn’t working.”
• Shrug. Like I said from the start, I think what’s going to really make this issue explode is when those sites are hacked and everyone in Texas who looks at porn has their ID and photo posted publicly.
• Just a thought.
• And now, The Weather: “Shovel” by Deep Sea Diver
• In real weather news, bundle up, America.
• Brutally cold air from Siberia will sink south over Canada late this week and rush into the northern US by Saturday morning. It’ll then expand over much of the West and Central US Saturday and reach parts of the South and East Sunday.
• Temperatures could be almost 30 degrees below normal by Monday for millions across the country in what’s already the coldest part of the year.
• North Dakota may see a life-threatening 40 to nearly 50 below zero on Monday morning. Single-digit wind chills will cover most of the US that day and are possible as far west as Nevada, as far south as Texas, and as far east as Maine.
• It’s 44 here this morning and I’m cold. I can’t even imagine how you people deal with that. I truly can’t.
• From the Sports Desk… after the first round of the NFL playoffs, here are the passing leaders.
• 1. C.J. Stroud (HOU) - 282 yards. 2. Josh Allen (BUF) - 272 yards. 3. Russell Wilson (PIT) - 270 yards. 4. Jayden Daniels (WSH) - 268 yards. 5. Sam Darnold (MIN) - 245 yards.
• Note, of course, that neither Patrick Mahomes (KC) or Jared Goff (DET) have played yet, being the QBs of the 1-seed teams that had a bye in the Wild Card.
• Today in history… Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England and Ireland in Westminster Abbey, London (1559). New Connecticut — aka present-day Vermont — declares its independence (1777). Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris addresses the U.S. Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage (1782). Fort Fisher in North Carolina falls to the Union in the US Civil War, thus cutting off the last major seaport of the Confederacy (1865). A political cartoon for the first time symbolizes the Democratic Party with a donkey (1870). The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is incorporated in Atlanta (1889). James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball (1892). A wave of molasses released from an exploding storage tank sweeps through Boston, Massachusetts, killing 21 and injuring 150 (1919). The Pentagon is dedicated in Arlington County, VA (1943). The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles, where the Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35–10 (1967). The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm (1991). Wikipedia, a free wiki content encyclopedia, goes online (2001). US Airways Flight 1549, captained by Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, ditches safely in the Hudson River after the plane collides with birds less than two minutes after take-off (2009). Theresa May's UK government suffers the biggest government defeat in modern times, when 432 MPs voting against the proposed European Union withdrawal agreement (2019).
• January 15 is the birthday of actor/playwright Molière (1622), animal rights activist Richard Martin (1754), singer-songwriter Ivor Novello (1893), physicist Edward Teller (1908), drummer Gene Krupa (1909), actor Lloyd Bridges (1913), minister/activist Martin Luther King Jr. (1929), singer-songwriter Captain Beefheart (1941), singer-songwriter Ronnie Van Zant (1948), NFL player Randy White (1953), actor Mario Van Peebles (1957), actress Regina King (1971), NFL player Drew Brees (1979), rapper Pitbull (1981), music producer Skrillex (1988), and NFL player Deebo Samuel (1996).

I’m out of time… or at least time to write news stuff. Enjoy your day.