Random News: April 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 April 28, 2025, and it’s a Monday. I'm up and about, ready to face another week of whatever happens. Bring it on.

• When I first heard about the mobilization of events on or near May Day, we were informed at the time that some 50 events had been planned nationwide.
• There are now over 800 events happening this week in the “May Day Strong” protest actions. All of them are on Thursday May 1 through Saturday May 3. I believe there are events in every state in the USA.
• I’m attending the most local one of these on Saturday… it’s May Day Strong: South Bay LA, just a couple of miles east of me at the Torrance, CA civic center.
• I think that being part of very local events helps your neighbors understand that they are not alone in resisting fascism and Trumpism and the oligarchical rule of the USA.
• Anyway, join us! Get out among people who share your beliefs, and let’s hit the streets! You can get info at maydaystrong.org or check the link to the event map in the comments.
• Moving on.
• As we reported over the weekend, poll numbers came out in conjunction with Dumpy’s first 100 days into his second term, and they were the worst of any president in 80s year.
• Donnie Dump fucking freaked out. He’s an old man who still lives or dies by his “ratings,” so in true Dumpy form, he’s now attacking (drum roll)… the polls.
• And in fact, this morning, he said that pollsters should be investigated for "election fraud."
• I’m serious. This fucking whiny baby man wrote this morning — not just citing one poll but many huge and legitimate surveys from The New York Times, ABC News/The Washington Post, and Fox News — all of whom agreed on Dump’s tremendous unpopularity.
• He said on social media, “They are negative criminals who apologize to their subscribers and readers after I win elections big, much bigger than their polls showed I would win, loose a lot of credibility, and then go on cheating and lying for the next cycle, only worse.”
• Yes, the misspellings are his. Dumpy wasn’t done being bigly mad and sad and feeling bad.
• “They suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome, and there is nothing that anyone, or anything, can do about it. THEY ARE SICK, almost only write negative stories about me no matter how well I am doing (99.9% at the Border, BEST NUMBER EVER!), AND ARE TRULY THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE! I wish them well, but will continue to fight to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
• Poor old orange fat boy. No one likes you. Go cry some more, ya big pussy.
• Let’s move on to something that matters.
• Don’t get distracted by anything while keeping an eye on your Social Security that Dump and his team are trying to take away.
• It’s starting by making it more and more difficult to access the money that you paid into over your working life. The elimination of 7,000 Social Security jobs — more than 12 percent of the workforce — and other cuts have led to long waits, dropped calls, and other widespread service issues. 
• More than 73 million Americans receive Social Security benefits, spanning all states and districts. It is the government’s marquee program for elderly and disabled people, so beneficiaries are concentrated among older Americans, who vote in high proportions.
• Voters 65 and up narrowly backed Trump 50 percent to 49 percent in November. And now that 1-percentage point of people is to blame for the inevitable hardships that are coming for themselves and all the rest.
• Elon Musk, who Dump tasked with tearing away Americans’ benefits, has called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme,” saying the money coming in is not enough to meet its future obligations.
• So whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, or even someone who doesn’t give a shit about politics at all… this affects you and your loved ones and friends.
• Don’t let them screw you over without putting up a fight.
• Moving on.
• I can tell you one guy who’s never going to let Dumpy be his bully: Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.
• Yesterday, he sharply criticized fellow Democrats for not doing enough to oppose Dump, perhaps drawing a clear divide between himself and other high-profile Democrats seen as future presidential contenders.
• Without naming names, he called out Democrats “flocking to podcasts and cable news shows to admonish fellow Democrats for not caring enough about the struggles of working families.”
• Pritzker added, “Those same do-nothing Democrats want to blame our losses on our defense of Black people, of trans kids, of immigrants, instead of their own lack of guts and gumption.”
• He has a point.
• One thing about Pritzker: he’s far more rich than Dump. If the people who think of a person’s value as connected to their wealth — perhaps like MAGA weirdos — then they should have no problem supporting the billionaire Hyatt heir.
• Let’s move on.
• Elon Musk really, really, really wants deepfake videos to be a part of your life.
• He is challenging the constitutionality of a Minnesota ban on using deepfakes to influence elections and harm candidates, saying it violates First Amendment speech protections.
• He didn’t mention that it also allows scumbags to make fake porn videos of your children, but hey, he’s the guys MAGA loves.
• His company X Corp filed a federal lawsuit this week that also contends that the 2023 state law is preempted by a 1996 federal statute that shields social media from being held responsible for material posted on their platforms.
• Minnesota’s law imposes criminal penalties — including jail time — for disseminating a deepfake video, image, or audio if a person knows it’s fake, or acts with reckless disregard to its authenticity, either within 90 days before a party nominating convention, or after the start of early voting in a primary or general election.
• The law’s author, Democratic state Sen. Erin Maye Quade, says quite accurately, “Elon Musk funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into the 2024 presidential election and tried to buy a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat. Of course he is upset that Minnesota law prevents him from spreading deepfakes that meant to harm candidates and influence elections.”
• X, formerly known as Twitter, said it’s the only social media platform challenging the Minnesota law.
• Figures.
• In other news…
• Starting at sunrise yesterday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) voiced their opposition to the Republican budget plan by holding a sit-in protest on the steps of the Capitol that lasted more than 12 hours.
• They started livestreaming their conversation at 6am, while Booker warned of a "moment of moral urgency" as Congress is set to return from a two-week recess today.
• Their protest had gotten approximately 6 million views online through various platforms as of yesterday evening.
• The Republican budget plan is a key step toward implementing Dumpy's cruel priorities on border security, defense, energy, and taxes… and includes potential cuts to Medicaid and other crucial services for the American public.
• Let’s move on.
• Early yesterday morning, at least 114 people who are allegedly in the United States unlawfully were arrested at a party in Colorado Springs.
• The DEA said the operation, with over 300 officers and agents from the FBI, ICE, ATF, IRS, USPS, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, and local law enforcement, also yielded the seizure of firearms and drugs.
• Fucking hell. That’s like, nearly every possible law enforcement you can use inside the USA. I guess DHS was busy or something.
• But now some weird shit…
• DEA officials went on to say that active duty U.S. military personnel were at the party, some working private security and others as patrons.
• Colorado Springs is a big military town, you see.
• Anyway, if you were wondering: Colorado state law does limit the scope of collaboration between local governments and federal immigration authorities, unless those federal agencies have a warrant signed by a federal judge or magistrate.
• Which this one certainly must have had.
• From the International Desk…
• In Iran over the weekend, a massive explosion and fire that rocked a port has killed at least 40 people and injured around 1,000 others.
• The explosion happened just as Iran and the United States met Saturday in Oman for the third round of negotiations over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.
• Hmm.
• While no one in Iran outright suggested that the explosion came from an attack, even Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had recently acknowledged that "our security services are on high alert given past instances of attempted sabotage and assassination operations designed to provoke a legitimate response."
• "We have to find out why it happened," said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
• And now, The Weather: “Evangelic Girl is a Gun” by yeule
• From the Sports Desk… the playoffs continue. By the way, these keep going for more than another month in both sports. Why did I start posting daily scores? I’m an idiot.
• In the NBA: the Knicks beat the Pistons at the buzzer, 94-93, and take a 3-1 lead in that series. The Timberwolves beat the Lakers 116-113, and with a 3-1 lead in the series are just a win away from moving to Round 2. The Celtics beat the Magic 107-98, grabbing a 3-1 lead in the series. And the Pacers gave the Bucks a beatdown, winning 129-103 and going up 3-1 in the series.
• In the NHL: the Blues spanked the Jets 5-1, tying their series at 2-2. The Hurricanes beat the Devils 5-2, and lead the series 3-1. The Capitals beat the Canadiens 5-2, now up 3-1 in the series. And the Oilers took another one from the Kings, winning 4-3 in overtime and tying the series at 2-2.
• And a note about last week’s NFL Draft.
• For the literal first time in my life, the sports pundits are giving my football team, the Oakland/Los Angeles/Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders, grades of A and even A+ in the 2025 NFL Draft. Per averages of draft analysts, the Raiders got the highest score of any team in the league.
• The Raiders have classically been one of the worst teams at drafting the right talent.
• But we now have a whole new management… new GM, new head coach. And it shows. The draft went super well for them, and I’m hoping it reflects on the upcoming season.
• Today in history… Temür, grandson of Kublai, is elected Khagan of the Mongols (1294). Maryland becomes the seventh state to ratify the United States Constitution (1788). France invades the Austrian Netherlands — present day Belgium and Luxembourg — beginning the French Revolutionary Wars (1792). Chinese and Irish laborers for the Central Pacific Railroad working on the First transcontinental railroad lay ten miles of track in one day, a feat which has never been matched (1869). Wembley Stadium is opened, named initially as the Empire Stadium (1923). Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci are shot dead by Walter Audisio, a member of the Italian resistance movement (1945). Igor Stravinsky conducted the premiere of his American ballet ‘Orpheus’ at the New York City Center (1948). Boxer Muhammad Ali refuses his induction into the United States Army and is subsequently stripped of his championship and license (1967). ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ by Pink Floyd goes to number one on the US Billboard chart, beginning a record-breaking 741-week chart run (1973). High levels of radiation resulting from the Chernobyl disaster are detected at a nuclear power plant in Sweden, leading Soviet authorities to publicly announce the accident (1986). CBS News released evidence of the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse (2004).
• April 28 is the birthday of English king Edward IV (1442), US president James Monroe (1758), actor Lionel Barrymore (1878), astronomer Jan Oort (1900), businessman Oskar Schindler (1908), businessman Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916), singer Blossom Dearie (1924), novelist Harper Lee (1926), astronomer Eugene Merle Shoemaker (1928), Iraq president Saddam Hussein (1937), actress Ann-Margret (1941), author Terry Pratchett (1948), actor Bruno Kirby (1949), comedian/TV host Jay Leno (1950), singer-songwriter/keyboardist Chuck Leavell (1952), singer-songwriter/musician Kim Gordon (1953), golfer John Daly (1966), NHL player Nicklas Lidström (1970), actress Penélope Cruz (1974), actress Jessica Alba (1981), NFL player Blake Bortles (1992), NFL player Denzel Ward (1997), and MLB player Anthony Volpe (2001).

A reminder to make plans this week to find a local May Day protest in your area. Again, I’ll put a link to the event map in the comments. Enjoy your day.