Random News: January 28, 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 28, 2025, and it’s a Tuesday. I seem to be recovering, both from the trade show itself and the inevitable bug I picked up while there. That’s a good thing, because I have tons of post-show work to handle between now and the weekend. Therefore, let’s do some news.

• It didn’t take long for Dump to begin his acts of retribution, not that they weren’t expected.
• More than a dozen officials who worked on the criminal investigations into Dumpy the Felon have been fired.
• A letter from acting Attorney General James McHenry to the officials said they cannot be trusted to faithfully implement Dump’s agenda.
• Since a lot of Dump’s agenda is completely illegal and/or unconstitutional, I’d say that should be applicable to a whole lot of our government.
• “Given your significant role in prosecuting the President, I do not believe that the leadership of the Department can trust you to assist in implementing the President’s agenda faithfully,” wrote McHenry.
• Those pricks are also investigating prosecutors who oversaw the criminal cases against January 6 defendants. Ed Martin, the interim US attorney in Washington, DC, has launched an investigation into prosecutors who brought obstruction charges against some rioters that were ultimately tossed because of a Supreme Court decision.
• Let’s move over to other parts of the world for a moment.
• Tens of thousands of Palestinians, displaced by months of war in Gaza, began making their way north yesterday. They’re coming home to survey the damage wrought by Israel’s military campaign against Hamas.
• Under the current ceasefire terms, the Israel Defense Forces opened the Netzarim Corridor a day later than planned, allowing civilians to return to a region largely flattened by artillery and bombs.
• Most were on foot, their few remaining belongings in plastic bags slung over shoulders or tucked under arms.
• Many of them have been sheltering in tents for months. Many already knew that their homes had been destroyed. Videos and photos from the region show blocks reduced to broken concrete and rebar.
• Hopefully they can rebuild to some degree before it starts up again.
• Moving on.
• A follow-up to yesterday’s story about the tiff between the USA and Colombia involving the treatment of immigrants being returned.
• It had been reported that Colombian President Gustavo Petro had backed down due to Dump’s threat to impose a 25% tariff on the country’s exports.
• That is not correct. Instead, Petro responded with a 50% tariff against the USA, and it was Dump who capitulated.
• In exchange for cancelling the threatened tariffs, returning immigrants are now being flown on commercial jets — not handcuffed in military planes — which is the same process as the rules under the Biden presidency.
• Prepare to see a lot of this in coming years.
• And on a related note, Dump’s current round of saber-rattling with Mexico, Colombia, and Panama will most likely lead these countries to fortify their relationships with China and Russia.
• Golf clap.
• I want to give you a reminder of the items that will be more expensive — in some case much more — under the incoming Dump Tax that he calls “tariffs.”
• And please don’t be shocked at high prices in coming years… especially those of you who voted for the guy causing them.
• Phones, toys, games, healthcare devices, clothes, household appliances, shoes, TVs, cookware, tools, and more.
• Vegetables, feed/grain, bakery products, liquors/wine/beer, fruits, meat products, and more.
• Trucks, busses, special purpose vehicles, engines/parts, passenger cars, and more.
• So, pretty much everything you buy. You all voted for Dump because he was going to immediately make things more affordable, right?
• What happened?
• Let’s just move on.
• Today, the Dump administration is pausing all federal grants and loans.
• This will cause widespread disruption in health care research, education programs, and other initiatives. Even grants that have been awarded but not spent are supposed to be halted.
• I’ll point out that this is straight-up illegal. Congress had already authorized the funding for those grants.
• But, elect a criminal, expect crimes.
• Countless people depend on various grant programs to merely survive. There will be people who cannot put food on their tables without that money… and many of those people voted for Dump.
• Congrats. You fucked yourself.
• Let’s move on to one more story of the Tangerine Twat. This one is included for comedy purposes.
• That Old Fat Piece of Delusional Shit wrote, “The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond,” he wrote. “The days of putting a Fake Environmental argument, over the PEOPLE, are OVER. Enjoy the water, California!!!”
• So… would you like to know what the fuck he’s talking about?
• Federal officials turned on a federal water-pumping station in Northern California that had been down for maintenance over the weekend.
• Our state Department of Water Resources explained, “The military did not enter California. The federal government restarted federal water pumps after they were offline for maintenance for three days. State water supplies in Southern California remain plentiful.”
• So to be clear… we’ve always had water here. The military did not come here. And Dump just writes whatever comes into his demented mind, and idiots believe him.
• Let’s move on.
• I want to give you a story from the Karma Desk.
• Matthew Huttle, a 42-year-old from Hobart, IN, was pardoned last week by Dictator Dump for storming the Capitol on January 6, 2021. He’d been sentenced to six months in federal prison followed by 12 months on supervised release. 
• Sunday afternoon, he got pulled over in a traffic stop, got into a confrontation with Indiana State Police, resisted being arrested, struggled with the deputy, and ended up shot and killed.
• Huttle isn’t the first Capitol rioter to quickly face trouble after his pardon. Last week, a Florida man who took part in the Jan. 6 insurrection was arrested on federal gun charges one day after being pardoned.
• Ha ha!
• Moving on.
• Let’s mention that yesterday, the Senate confirmed billionaire hedge fund manager and investor Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary, making him the highest-ranking LGBTQ official in the nation’s history.
• The vote was 68-29 to confirm Bessent, 62, to lead the Department of the Treasury. He is the first openly LGBTQ person to hold the position, fifth in line to the presidency. 
• Bessent’s confirmation comes after former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made history as the first openly LGBTQ Cabinet official to win Senate confirmation in 2021.
• But it was actually in 2020, during Dump’s first term, that Richard Grenell became the first gay Cabinet member when he was appointed acting director of national intelligence. 
• Is the appointment of LGBTQ people in the cabinet more performative than supportive? Perhaps, but representation counts, and while I’m sure Bessent is an asshole in ways that appeal to Dumpy and screw over America, I’m still glad to see a gay person in a high-ranking government role.
• That stuff sets examples to the MAGA pricks out there. 
• From the Business Desk… hey, how’s your 401(k) or IRA doing after a week of King Dump? Probably not so great.
• Shares of AI chip leader Nvidia struggled to rise from a record-breaking wipeout sparked by a low-cost Chinese artificial intelligence model that threatens the dominance of U.S. rivals.
• In the last session, Nvidia lost $593 billion in market value — a record one-day loss for any company, while shares of companies in semiconductor, power, and infrastructure companies exposed to AI collectively shed more than $1 trillion.
• I thought Dumpy was some kind of business genius? Why didn’t he see this coming?
• And now, The Weather: “I Got Exactly What I Wanted” by The Convenience
• From the Sports Desk… with 12 days remaining until the Super Bowl, we need to start getting used to covering sports other than NFL football.
• How about NBA star Jimmy Butler, who was suspended by the Miami Heat without pay for an indefinite period of time after the disgruntled baller walked out of practice yesterday?
• It’s the third time Butler has been suspended by the Heat in recent weeks, and it comes as he was expected to return from his second suspension last night against the Orlando Magic. The Heat said the latest suspension will last at least five games, which will take it through the NBA's trade deadline on February 6.
• Butler is a great player but is also a punk-ass bitch with no concern about his team. He’s requested a trade, and the Heat have said they are working to find a deal. Butler faces losing $532,737 per game under the latest suspension.
• Over a half million per GAME. Butler doesn’t seem to realize he’s 35 years old and only has a limited time to be effective in pro sports before his skills diminish.
• Today in history… The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession of his son Louis the Pious as ruler of the Frankish Empire (814). Edward VI, the nine-year-old son of Henry VIII, becomes King of England on his father's death (1547). Execution of Agnes Sampson, accused of witchcraft in Edinburgh (1591). Sir Horace Walpole coins the word “serendipity” in a letter to a friend (1754). Jane Austen's ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is first published (1813). Northwestern University becomes the first chartered university in Illinois (1851). Walter Arnold becomes the first person to be convicted of speeding for going 8 mph in a 2 mph zone (1896). An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard as a branch of the United States Armed Forces (1915). Iceland becomes the first Western country to legalize abortion (1935). Elvis Presley makes his first national television appearance (1956). The Lego company patents the design of its Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today (1958). The National Football League announces expansion teams for Dallas to start in the 1960 NFL season and Minneapolis-St. Paul for the 1961 NFL season (1960). Supergroup USA for Africa records the hit single “We Are the World” to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief (1985). Space Shuttle STS-51-L Challenger disintegrates after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board (1986). 
• January 28 is the birthday of poet/critic Johann Elias Schlegel (1719), businessman William Seward Burroughs I (1855), businessman Charles W. Nash (1864), painter Jackson Pollock (1912), artist Claes Oldenburg (1929), actor Alan Alda (1936), businessman Carlos Slim (1940), NBA coach Gregg Popovich (1949), singer-songwriter Peter Schilling (1956), singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan (1968), SCOTUS justice Amy Coney Barrett (1972), NFL player Daunte Culpepper (1977), singer Joey Fatone (1977), singer Nick Carter (1980), actor Elijah Wood (1981), and NBA player Andre Iguodala (1984).

That seems like enough. Side note: one of Dump’s tactics is to throw so much shit at you at once that you stop caring. Do not stop caring. And keep in mind that after a short time frame, he’s going to run out of shit and get bored. He loves the rallies and so on; he hates the task of being a public servant. And we’re going to watch him be miserable for a good while. That you can look forward to. Enjoy your day.