Random News: March 30, 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 March 30, 2025, and it’s a Sunday. It’s been a very quiet morning thus far; the nearly inaudible sound of the light rain falling, along with the mish-mash of my typing on my computer keyboard is all I can hear at the moment, which is nice. I’m in my robe and have a hearty cup of Peet’s Sumatra, which is also nice.

• Let’s start today with few fun facts.
• Yesterday was Dumples the Clown’s 69th day in office. Dumpy played golf at his own little golf motel in Florida.
• Since his inauguration on January 20, it’s his 14th day of golf at that particular property and the 18th time be has played at one of his golf courses.
• So for a quarter of the days he’s been president in this term — a full 25% of the time — the fat old fuck has played golf.
• It’s bad enough that he’s not doing any fucking work.
• But the cost to taxpayers for moving Dumpy's motorcade equipment and security personnel around as well as the immense cost of flying Air Force 1 for each of his little golf trips, it adds up to $26,127,531.
• In just over two months. So he can fuck off on his little golf course.
• Let’s do some news.
• Yesterday, Dumples the Weak made his clearest commitment to not fire anyone over an embarrassing accidental leak of his administration’s plans for an airstrike against the Houthis in Yemen.
• “I don’t fire people because of fake news and because of witch hunts,” he said, trying to draw attention away from the very real, provable lapse in national security that’s one of the worst in U.S. history.
• Dumpy also said that he had confidence in Mike Waltz, his national security adviser, and Pete Hegseth, his Pentagon chief. Funny how he’s completely alone in this outlook.
• Asked if there were conversations about firing Waltz, Dump insisted, “I’ve never heard that. And nobody else makes that decision but me, and I’ve never heard it.”
• Awww. Li’l Don still thinks he’s the one making decisions. That’s adorable. It’s like when your toddler has a plastic steering wheel and thinks they’re operating the vehicle.
• In other news…
• Another student has been grabbed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for dubious reasons, this time at the University of Minnesota.
• The graduate student at the University of Minnesota was detained by ICE this week at an off-campus residence.
• The school called the situation “deeply concerning,” and said it did not have further information or any prior knowledge that the detention was happening.
• They did not release the student’s name. The student’s nationality, visa type, and status were unavailable. Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security responded to requests for comment last night.
• Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he had been in touch with DHS to get information, and added that he would share more when he could. “The University of Minnesota is an international destination for education and research. We have any number of students studying here with visas, and we need answers,” he said.
• Indeed we do. If there is a God, someday we will be watching the trials of every single person involved in these illegal and unAmerican, unconstitutional actions.
• Let’s move on.
• Hundreds of “Tesla Takedown” demonstrations took place yesterday in the United States, Canada, and Europe as activists ramp up their opposition to President Musk’s efforts to slash federal government staffing and budgets.
• Musk, as you know, has aggressively pushed policies to reduce spending as the head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, but has instead gutted our country’s ability to serve its people while repeatedly misleading the public about federal spending.
• The campaign wants people to sell their Tesla vehicles and their shares of Tesla stock as a way to denounce Musk, the world’s richest man, whose wealth is overwhelmingly linked to his Tesla holdings.
• Some who participated did show in solidarity and support with the hundreds of thousands of federal workers who’ve been dismissed form essential jobs.
• Protestor James Decherd said, “I’m just afraid for what kind of country this is going to be after these cuts. The whole country is at risk of becoming a dystopian hellscape. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
• Seems about right.
• What’s the next step for President Musk? It seems to be privatization of nearly all government services and functions from mail delivery to foreign aid.
• Musk’s DOGE Service is attempting to shift all of your tax money to the private sector, reducing the size and power of the federal bureaucracy and giving more and more power and money to billionaires like himself.
• At the DOGE-allied General Services Administration, officials are quietly moving ahead with a push to sell hundreds of publicly owned buildings to private companies — which can then lease them back to the government.
• Private firms are currently preparing for a piecemeal government effort to outsource mail and package handling and long-haul trucking routes, while dumping the leases for post offices.
• At the Interior Department, pressured by Musk and Dump, Secretary Doug Burgum has proposed allowing private developers to build on federal lands across the West.
• Look we told you about all this, and more, well in advance of a bunch of people choosing to vote for Dumpy last November. Now they get what they voted for.
• And the rest of us — the strong people who don’t allow ourselves to get bullied and used — need to step up and fight. There’s still time.
• Because it’s only going to get worse from here. As someone once said, you ain’t seen nothing yet. And I mean that in the worst conceivable ways.
• Moving on.
• Dumpy is seemingly becoming aware that he’s being played with like a toy by Russian President Vladimir Putin. I know, took him awhile, right?
• This morning, Dump claimed that he is “very angry, pissed off” at remarks Putin made Friday about Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, suggesting he is not a legitimate leader. He also said that any peace agreement signed onto by Ukraine’s government could receive pushback.
• What did Angry Dump do? He went to the only took in his toolkit, threatening to slap a new tariff on Russia if it is at fault for stalling an end “to bloodshed.”
• I doubt Dump will do anything at all. This seems like theater to me.
• Let’s move on.
• We have an important note from the Health Desk.
• The USA is still dealing with the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic, with more and more long COVID cases emerging. Bird flu is a growing threat. Measles outbreaks have been occurring. Antibiotic-resistant organisms continue to spread in healthcare settings.
• The Department of Health and Human Services has one job, which is to protect the health of humans in the U.S. What’s their plan?
• Most recently, it’s to fire the entire staff of the U.S. government’s Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy as part of the whole HHS downsizing and restructuring plan from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
• Thousands of jobs are also being slashed at the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and at the National Institutes of Health.
• If I was a betting man with a macabre streak, I’d put big money on the outbreak of another pandemic sometime in the next few years that will make the last one seem like a walk in the park.
• But hey, MAGA, at least you got your… what did you get again? Oh yeah, nothing.
• Moving on.
• If there’s one thing that Dumpy and the GOP don’t have, it’s any semblance of a sense of humor.
• So it’s no surprise that, in a break with tradition, this year's White House Correspondents dinner will not include a featured comedian.
• The White House Correspondents' Association has canceled writer and comedian Amber Ruffin's scheduled appearance at the high-profile event.
• Previous entertainers at the event include Trevor Noah, Roy Wood Jr., Colin Jost, and many more. The annual White House dinner — generally a fun and lighthearted affair — has been going since 1921. U.S. presidents usually attend, though Dumpy the Sad Man chose not to during his first term in office.
• Why? Because he’s a big fucking pussy-ass bitch.
• And now, The Weather: “Mild To Moderate Pain” by Jadu Heart
• Rest in peace going out to actor Richard Chamberlain, who died last night at 90 (two days short of 91, to be specific).
• He was the handsome hero of the 1960s television series “Dr. Kildare” and then became king of the miniseries after starring in such shows as “Centennial” and “Shogun.”
• It wasn’t until 2003 that Chamberlain openly acknowledged that he was gay, but with his huge popularity in the ‘60s with teenage girls, it probably was an understandable career decision.
• From the Sports Desk… I will begrudgingly yet dutifully continue to cover the NCAA basketball tournaments.
• In the Men’s tourney, we will have a Final 4 tonight. Yesterday, 1-seed Florida beat 3-seed Texas Tech, while 1-seed Duke crushed 2-seed Alabama. Today, 1-seed Auburn takes on 2-seed Michigan State, and 1-seed Houston plays 2-seed Tennessee.
• In the Women’s March Madness, the Elite 8 is as follows…
• 1-seed UCLA vs. 3-seed LSU. 1-seed USC vs. 2-seed UConn. 1-seed South Carolina vs. 2-seed Duke. 1-seed Texas vs. 2-seed TCU. Those games are today and tomorrow.
• Today in history… The Florida Territory is created in the United States (1822). Ether anesthesia is used for the first time, in an operation by the American surgeon Dr. Crawford Long (1842). The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Crimean War (1856). Sir William Crookes announces his discovery of the element thallium (1861). Danish prince Wilhelm Georg is chosen as King George of Greece (1863). Alaska is purchased from Russia for $7.2 million by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward (1867). Texas is readmitted to the United States Congress following Reconstruction (1870). The Heinkel He 100 fighter sets a world airspeed record of 463 mph (1939). A riot breaks out in Austurvöllur square in Reykjavík when Iceland joins NATO (1949). U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr.; three others are wounded in the same incident (1981). SpaceX conducts the world's first reflight of an orbital class rocket (2017). Donald Trump becomes the first former United States president to be indicted by a grand jury (2023).
• March 30 is the birthday of painter/sculptor Francisco Goya (1746), author Anna Sewell (1820), poet Paul Verlaine (1844), painter Vincent van Gogh (1853), writer/philosopher/monk Chunseong (1891), diplomat Carl Lutz (1895), animator Marc Davis (1913), singer-songwriter/harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson (1914), actor Richard Dysart (1929), singer-songwriter Rolf Harris (1930), actor Warren Beatty (1937), NBA player Jerry Lucas (1940), singer-songwriter/guitarist Eric Clapton (1945), model Naomi Sims (1949), actor Robbie Coltrane (1950), actor Paul Reiser (1956), rapper MC Hammer (1962), singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman (1964), singer-songwriter Celine Dion (1968), singer-songwriter/pianist Norah Jones (1979), NFL player Richard Sherman (1988), MLB player Chris Sale (1989), and MLB player Alex Bregman (1994).

That’s plenty. Keep doing all you do. I believe in you. Enjoy your day.