Random News: April 24, 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.

---

Good morning. It’s April 24, 2025, and it’s a Thursday for some reason. This week thus far has kicked my ass. As a small business owner, I am definitely happy about the amount of work my company is handling right now. As a human being, I am beat the fuck up with the amount of pure work I’ve had to do each day. My boss is an asshole; and I am that asshole.

• Let’s do some news.
• Donnie Dump has been claiming that he’s working on a great trade deal with China, and is engaged in the midst of active negotiations over tariffs.
• But today, China straight-up said that Dumpy is full of shit. 
• Their Ministry of Commerce spokesman He Yadong said, quite poetically, “Any claims about the progress of China-U.S. trade negotiations are groundless as trying to catch the wind and have no factual basis.”
• “No factual basis” should be on Dump’s tombstone. Hopefully sooner than later.
• And another ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, was more to the point. “There have been no consultations or negotiations between China and the United States regarding tariffs, let alone reaching an agreement.”
• I mean, even Dump’s own treasury secretary Scott Bessent contradicted him, saying there were no formal negotiations after Dump told reporters earlier in the week that “everything’s active” when asked if he was engaging with China.
• Bessent has also said in recent days that the trade war is “not sustainable” and “there would have to be a de-escalation by both sides”.
• China is being pretty simple about their requirements to end this idiocy. They’ve called on Dump to completely cancel all unilateral tariff measures if he wants trade talks.
• We’ll see how that goes.
• Side note: a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Wednesday found Dump’s approval on the economy at 37 percent, the lowest rating of either of his terms.
• And his overall approval stands at 43.6 percent and disapproval at 51.6 percent, a net change of negative 8 points.
• Even Republicans are sick of this guy’s shit.
• Let’s move on.
• The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is now doing the opposite of how both Republican and Democratic administrations have enforced the laws that prohibit discrimination in hiring, housing, and voting rights.
• Dump has removed more than a dozen senior lawyers in the department — many with decades of experience working under presidents of both parties.
• Dumpy’s new hand-picked head of the division, Harmeet Dhillon, issued a series of memos last week, outlining priorities that are dramatically at odds with the department’s mission.
• Rather than focusing on enforcing federal laws against discrimination, the division is now charged with pursuing priorities laid out in a series of Dump’s executive orders, including “Keeping Men out of Women's Sports” and “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.” 
• Who is Dhillon? She’s a conservative culture warrior who represented Dump in challenging the results of the 2020 election and ardently backed his baseless claims of fraud.
• So now our government is actively working against the civil rights granted to us in our Constitution, and those won through hard-fought battles over the past 60+ years.
• Now you see why I want you to join me in the streets.
• Moving on.
• Dumpy is planning to remove federal protections for national monuments spanning millions of acres in the West.
• His Interior Department has been tasked with looking at whether to scale back at least six national monuments. The list includes Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon, Ironwood Forest, Chuckwalla, Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante — national monuments spread across Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Utah.
• Dump wants to use these incredible natural wonders for mining and oil production.
• I’m telling you, we fight now, or we lose America forever.
• Let’s keep moving on.
• Here’s an immigration situation I could have easily predicted.
• A group of day laborers in Pomona, CA were detained on Tuesday morning by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who swept through a Home Depot parking lot.
• More than a dozen people were grabbed at once.
• Seeing these day laborers is a common sight here in Southern California. Contractors in many areas, from maintenance work to roofing to painting and much more, will pick up these capable workers — often undocumented immigrants — to accomplish the often strenuous jobs they do.
• One of the day laborers, Carlos, narrowly avoided being caught. Speaking through an interpreter, he emotionally said. “We are here. We are human beings. We're only here to support ourselves and maintain our families.”
• The raid sparked swift backlash. Local immigrant rights groups, including the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, organized an emergency press conference and rally, condemning the federal immigration agency and urging those who are undocumented to know their rights.
• Jessica Bansal, an attorney with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, said, “If you are detained, you can exercise your rights. You can refuse to answer questions, and you can ask to speak to an attorney.”
• And hopefully, these people will be provided the due process that is guaranteed by the Constitution to all people — not just citizens and green card holders — in the USA.
• In other news…
• What is manly man Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spending money on at the Pentagon?
• He’s recently ordered modifications to a room next to the Pentagon press briefing room to retrofit it with a makeup studio so he can look pretty for television appearances. 
• I’m serious.
• The price tag for the project was several thousand dollars at a time when the administration is searching for cost-cutting measures.
• Since his nomination, Hegseth has vowed to emphasize improvements in the armed forces' warfighting abilities and military readiness.
• And ability to apply foundation, blush, and eyeliner, apparently. Before becoming defense secretary, Hegseth was a morning show co-host on Fox News' "Fox & Friends Weekend." 
• It figures. Guys like Dump and Hegseth persecute people in the LGBTQIA+ community, but wear more makeup than typical drag queens.
• The Defense Department did state that Hegseth is doing his own makeup ahead of TV appearances, and not paying for a makeup artist with our tax dollars, per a defense official. So that’s something, I guess.
• Moving on.
• Yesterday, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said that he will not seek reelection in 2026, ending his more than four-decade career representing Illinois.
• The man is 80 years old. I don’t think we should feel surprised or let down when someone retires as an octogenarian.
• One thing you can thank this man for: the nationwide ban on indoor smoking and smoking on airplanes. I’m a smoker and yet I 100% support those laws.
• The decision by Durbin, who is in his fifth Senate term and is the chamber’s No. 2 Democrat, will set off a flurry of activity among a scrum of would-be successors, both Democratic and Republican.
• But before you get all twisted about losing a seat in the Senate, Illinois has grown even more solidly Democratic in recent decades. The GOP has captured a Senate seat just twice for six-year terms since 1984.
• Whoever replaces him has big shows to fill; Durbin is listed as the Senate’s 14th most liberal member — right behind Illinois’ junior senator, Tammy Duckworth.
• In news from the International Desk…
• Russia launched its deadliest wave of attacks on Kyiv in nine months. Moscow sent 70 missiles and 145 drones toward Ukraine, mainly targeting Kyiv, in an attack that leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy said was aimed at pressuring the United States.
• So Dumpy reacted… by writing a social post — the only way he knows how to address global crisis.
• “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let's get the Peace Deal DONE!”
• Well, that should fix everything, I guess.
• At least eight people died in the attacks, and more may be trapped under rubble. Emergency services said Moscow’s attacks struck 13 locations in Kyiv, including residential buildings and civilian infrastructure. Ukraine’s emergency services earlier reported that nine people had died and more than 60 had been wounded.
• It was the costliest attack on the city since July 2024, when 33 people were killed in an aerial barrage that targeted a hospital and residential districts.
• In other world news…
• Yesterday, European Union watchdogs fined Apple and Meta hundreds of millions of euros as they stepped up enforcement of the 27-nation bloc's digital competition rules.
• They imposed a 500 million euro ($571 million) fine on Apple for preventing app makers from pointing users to cheaper options outside its App Store.
• They also fined Meta Platforms 200 million euros because it forced Facebook and Instagram users to choose between seeing personalized ads or paying to avoid them.
• Apple and Meta have to comply with the decisions within 60 days or risk unspecified periodic penalty payments. Both companies indicated they would appeal.
• And now, The Weather: “You Ruined Everything” by Fib
• From the Sports Desk… more playoff scores in two sports. I’m not sure why I started doing this, and now I’m stuck with it.
• In the NBA: the Celtics took a 2-0 lead in their series with the Magic, winning 109-100. Likewise, the Cavs are up 2-0 against the Heat after a 121-112 win, and the Rockets beat the Warriors 109-94, knotting up their series at 1-1.
• And in the NHL, the Capitals beat the Canadiens 3-1, taking a 2-0 lead in that series. The Kings spanked the Oilers 6-2, taking a 2-0 lead in that series. And the Stars had to go into overtime to beat the Avalanche 2-1, with Dallas taking a 3-1 lead in that series.
• Today in history… Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (1479 BC). The Fall of Troy, marking the end of the legendary Trojan War (1183 BC). Mary, Queen of Scots, marries the Dauphin of France, François, at Notre Dame de Paris (1558). The United States Library of Congress is established when President John Adams signs legislation to appropriate $5,000 to purchase "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress” (1800). American sharpshooter Annie Oakley is hired by Nate Salsbury to be a part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West (1885). The arrest of 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Istanbul marks the beginning of the Armenian genocide (1915). The first segment of the Imperial Wireless Chain providing wireless telegraphy between Leafield in Oxfordshire, England, and Cairo, Egypt, comes into operation (1922). Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II (1953). Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1 when its parachute fails to open, the first human to die on a space mission (1967). The Hubble Space Telescope is launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery (1990). WikiLeaks starts publishing the Guantanamo Bay files leak (2011).
• April 24 is the birthday of Tahiti queen Marau (1860), painter Willem de Kooning (1906), actress Shirley MacLaine (1934), politician Richard M. Daley (1942), singer/actress Barbra Streisand (1942), music producer Tony Visconti (1944), singer-songwriter Jack Blades (1954), comedian/actor Cedric the Entertainer (1964), MLB player Chipper Jones (1972), MLB player Carlos Beltrán (1977), singer-songwriter/TV host Kelly Clarkson (1982), actor Jack Quaid (1992), and NFL player Jerry Jeudy (1999).

I guess that’s it for now. I have stuff to do. Enjoy your day.