Random News: May 26, 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 May 26, 2025, and it’s a Monday. It’s a holiday but I’m up and pretty much my usual weekday time. I have things I want to do and, as the saying goes, time and tide wait for no man.

• It’s Memorial Day in the USA.
• This holiday specifically honors the military personnel who died in duty. It’s not Veterans Day, which is a general holiday that salutes anyone who ever served in any capacity, living or dead.
• Most people seem to forget what this somber day is about, and celebrate by barbecuing and going to the beach and drinking beer and whatnot.
• Or taking advantage of retail sales. I’m not sure how those things respect the people who died fighting in wars.
• Over 400,000 American soldiers died in WWII just to prevent a fascist maniac from taking over the world.
• The price for keeping the world out of the hands of psychotic dictators is immense and tragic. If you want to honor their memory today, the very best thing you can do is to continue their efforts by not offering support to current maniacs.
• Let’s do some news.
• Remember last fall, when Dumples the Peace Prize Clown said he would stop the Russian invasion of Ukrainian within 24 hours?
• Or, if your memory span is a bit shorter, how about a week ago, when Dumpy was going to stop the war via a phone call with Vladimir Putin?
• Welp.
• Overnight, Russia launched the biggest drone attack on Ukraine in the more than three-year war.
• The Russian bombardment on Sunday night included 355 drones. The previous night, Russia fired 298 drones and 69 missiles of various types at Ukraine in what Ukrainians said was the largest combined aerial assault during the conflict. From Friday to Sunday, Russia launched around 900 drones at Ukraine.
• What has Dumpy done about it? He threatened massive sanctions on Moscow, but so far hasn’t taken action.
• He’s done nothing. Oh wait, I’m sorry; Dump wrote a social post. That should clear things right up.
• “I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” wrote Dumpy last night.
• Let’s move on.
• As a preamble to this next story, I want to mention that there’s a right way to resist a horrible political regime and a wrong way.
• And as much as I understand the desire to bring harm to certain people for the apparent betterment of the world at large, it’s never the way that’s best in the short or long term.
• Federal prosecutors announced yesterday that Joseph Neumayer, 28, was arrested for trying to firebomb the U.S. embassy branch in Tel Aviv, and making threats against Dump.
• Neumayer was taken into custody in New York City by FBI special agents after he was deported from Israel. He’d traveled there in April.
• Without provocation, he spat at an embassy guard as he walked by and was able to flee as the guard attempted to detain him. He left his backpack outside the embassy after the tussle. A search of the backpack found three Molotov cocktails inside.
• This moron had posted on social media: "join me as I burn down the embassy in Tel Aviv. Death to America, death to Americans, and fuck the west."
• See, that’s the wrong way. Neumayer was charged with attempting to destroy, by means of fire or explosive, the U.S. Embassy. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
• FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement that Neumayer's alleged actions were "despicable and violent" and "will not be tolerated at home or abroad."
• Hate to say it, but Patel is right. 
• As Isaac Asimov once wrote, ”Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.” I’ve long believed that to be true.
• If you have strategic and nuanced skills like me, you can change the world while never lifting a gun or a knife. With the right strategy in place, the pen is indeed mightier than the sword.
• Still, come at me with violence and it’ll be the worst fucking decision you ever made. As another old saying goes, you can run up to me, but I promise you’ll limp away.
• Moving on.
• One group of immigrants who’ve been solid supporters of Donnie Dump are the 2.4 million Cuban-Americans. They’ve strongly backed him twice, and have long enjoyed a place of privilege in the U.S. immigration system.
• Thanks to Cold War laws aimed at removing Fidel Castro, Cuban migrants for many decades enjoyed almost automatic refugee status in the U.S. and could obtain green cards a year after entry, unlike migrants from virtually every other country.
• So imagine their shock when they found out that they, too, are in the crosshairs of being sent away. Yes kids, the leopards you voted for will also eat your face.
• Amid record arrivals of migrants from the Caribbean island, in March Dump revoked temporary humanitarian parole for about 300,000 Cubans. Many have been detained ahead of possible deportation.
• Among those facing deportation is a pro-Dump Cuban rapper behind a hit song that became the unofficial anthem of anti-communist protests on the island in 2021 and drew praise from the likes of then Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, now Secretary of State.
• Eliéxer Márquez, who raps under the name El Funky, said he received notice this month that he had 30 days to leave the U.S.
• Womp womp.
• Or then there’s Tomás Hernández, who worked in high-level posts for Cuba’s foreign intelligence agency for decades before migrating to the United States to pursue the American dream.
• The 71-year-old was detained by federal agents outside his Miami-area home, accused of hiding his ties to Cuba’s Communist Party when he obtained permanent residency.
• Look… if you’re not white, straight, male, born in the USA, and have a certain amount of wealth, Dump doesn’t give a flying fuck about you.
• And in related news…
• The Dump administration’s move to end deportation protections for wartime allies who fled to the United States after the fall of Afghanistan has infuriated veterans of the 20-year conflict there.
• Those vets say the U.S. government is betraying a sacred promise made to some of America’s most vulnerable partners. They’re right.
• Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem announced the administration’s termination of temporary protected status, or TPS, for Afghans, exposing thousands, potentially, to deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as soon as July.
• The fear, veterans and other advocates say, is that anyone who returns to Afghanistan will face immediate and harsh reprisal by the Taliban, the extremist militant group that in 2021 overran the U.S.-trained Afghan military and toppled the government in Kabul.
• For those of you who don’t get it, let me be super clear: these Afghans helped out our US military, often saving their lives many times over. Now Dump and Noem are sending them away to be tortured and killed.
• Matt Zeller, an Army veteran who became a prominent advocate for America’s Afghan allies after his interpreter saved his life, stated, “If they attempt to deport the Afghans, you’re going to see actual physical conflict between veterans and ICE.”
• And no, I don’t support violence as a solution. But I’m not going to stop a Navy Seal or an Army Ranger or a Green Beret from doing a beatdown on some cowardly piece of shit from ICE.
• In fact, I’d get out popcorn and enjoy the show.
• Moving on.
• Over the weekend, an unruly passenger forced an All Nippon Airways flight from Tokyo to Houston to divert to Seattle.
• The dude attempted to open the plane's exit doors during the flight. Fellow passengers and flight crew members restrained him before landing.
• Obviously the guy was having a severe psychotic episode. He was transported to a local hospital for further treatment. But wait.
• While on the tarmac in Seattle, a second passenger became unruly and was also removed by the Port of Seattle Police. The two incidents are unrelated.
• Hey everyone. How about we all calm the fuck down, mmkay?
• King Charles III is arriving in Ottawa, Canada today. The reason for the royal visit? To underscore Canada’s sovereignty to Dumpy.
• Dump’s repeated statements that the U.S. annex its northern neighbor prompted Prime Minister Mark Carney to invite Charles to give the speech from the throne that will outline his government’s agenda for the new Parliament.
• For those who don’t know: the king is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies.
• So Dumpy isn’t just insulting Canadians by implying that the USA is going to take over their country; he’s insulting our dear friends in the UK as well.
• Stupid piece of shit.
• In other news…
• Since some of you are out at barbecues and get-togethers where food is being served, I advise you be a lot more careful about what you put in your mouth.
• The Dump administration’s anti-regulatory and cost-cutting push is unraveling a critical system that helps ensure the safety of the U.S. food supply.
• Case in point: Colton George is a 9-year-old from Indiana. He’d eaten salad that was tainted by E. coli bacteria, and it ravaged his kidneys and nearly killed him.
• It was actually a widespread outbreak of E. Coli, but most people have never heard about it. In what many experts said was a break with common practice, officials never issued public communications after the investigation nor identified the grower who produced the lettuce.
• Be extra careful, for yourself and your kids… because Dump and his gang do not care. The systems of government that always served us so well can’t be relied on anymore.
• And now, The Weather: “Dudu” by yeule
• Let’s do a chart.
• It’s 60 years ago in late May 1965. Here’s the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. I won’t be born for another four years and 11 days. Where am I?
• 1. Ticket To Ride (The Beatles). 2. Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter (Herman's Hermits). 3. Count Me In (Gary Lewis And The Playboys). 4. Help Me, Rhonda (The Beach Boys). 5. I'll Never Find Another You). 6. Back In My Arms Again (The Supremes). 7. Silhouettes (Herman's Hermits). 8. Wooly Bully (Sam The Sham and the Pharaohs). 9. Just Once In My Life (The Righteous Brothers). 10. Crying In The Chapel (Elvis Presley With The Jordanaires). 11. Cast Your Fate To The Wind (Sounds Orchestral). 12. Baby The Rain Must Fall (Glenn Yarbrough). 13. I Know A Place (Petula Clark). 14. Game Of Love (Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders). 15. It's Not Unusual (Tom Jones). 16. I'll Be Doggone (Marvin Gaye). 17. True Love Ways (Peter And Gordon). 18. She's About A Mover (Sir Douglas Quintet). 19. Just A Little (The Beau Brummels). 20. Iko Iko (The Dixie Cups).
• From the Sports Desk… more playoff action in a couple of sports.
• In the NBA: for most of the game, it looked like the Pacers were going to take an insurmountable lead over the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals. But New York came back from a more-than 20 point deficit, and won 106-100. Indiana leads the series 2-1.
• In the NHL: the Oilers gave the Stars a 6-1 beatdown, and went up 2-1 in the Western Conference finals.
• Today in history… England is left temporarily without a monarch after the death of King Edmund I in a street fight (946). Geneva expels John Calvin and his followers from the city (1538). Montana is organized as a United States territory (1864). The Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi division, is the last full general of the Confederate Army to surrender, at Galveston, TX (1865). The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson ends with his acquittal by one vote (1868). Charles Dow publishes the first edition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (1896). The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles (1927). In the United States, the House Un-American Activities Committee begins its first session (1938). In northern France, Allied forces begin a massive evacuation from Dunkirk (1940). The Beatles' ‘Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band’ is released (1967). Apollo 10 returns to Earth after a successful eight-day test of all the components needed for the forthcoming first crewed moon landing (1969). The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (1972). The European Community adopts the European flag (1986). United States Army veteran Terry Nichols is found guilty of 161 state murder charges for helping carry out the Oklahoma City bombing (2004). Protests triggered by the murder of George Floyd erupt in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, before becoming widespread across the United States and around the world (2020). 
• May 26 is the birthday of singer/actress/musician Mamie Smith (1883), singer/actor Al Jolson (1886), photographer Dorothea Lange (1895), pianist/composer Ernst Bacon (1898), actor John Wayne (1907), actor Peter Cushing (1913), singer-songwriter Peggy Lee (1920), trumpet player/composer Miles Davis (1926), pathologist Jack Kevorkian (1928), singer-songwriter/drummer/actor Levon Helm (1940), guitarist/songwriter/producer Mick Ronson (1946), singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks (1948), actress Pam Grier (1949), physicist/astronaut Sally Ride (1951), actor Bobcat Goldthwait (1962), singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz (1964), actress Helena Bonham Carter (1966), animator Matt Stone (1971), singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill (1975), singer-songwriter Phil Elvrum (1978), NHL player Jimmy Vesey (1993), and NFL player Micah Parsons (1999).

As I said, I really do have today off. But I am going to go work out, because though my mind knows this is a holiday, my body requires various actions to keep it functioning as expected. Enjoy your day.