Random News: May 8, 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 8, 2025, and it’s a Thursday for some reason. Even on normal days, I don’t have much time to research and write this news; today my time is much more curtailed. I’m accompanying Kat for a medical procedure, and we have to hit the road before 7am. Therefore, I don’t have much time to delve deeply into this, so hopefully it’s all accurate and I’m not leaving out much. If so, there’s always tomorrow.

• Let’s start with some good news. We need it.
• Yesterday, a federal appeals court upheld a judge’s order to bring Rumeysa Ozturk — a Turkish Tufts University student who’d been kidnapped off the street by Dump’s ICE gestapo — back to New England from a Louisiana immigration detention center.
• Once back home, there will be hearings to determine whether her rights were violated and if she should be released.
• Denying a government request for a delay, the three-judge panel of the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Ozturk, who’s been in Louisiana for over six weeks following an op-ed she co-wrote last year that criticized the school’s response to Israel’s war in Gaza.
• This is America, where don’t fucking imprison people for expressing their beliefs. or, at least we didn’t before we had a president who chooses to openly ignore our country’s Constitution.
• The court ordered Ozturk to be transferred to ICE custody in Vermont no later than May 14. Immigration court proceedings for Ozturk, initiated in Louisiana, are being conducted separately and Ozturk can participate remotely, the court said.
• Let’s move on to some more good news.
• Yesterday, the White House has withdrawn President Trump's nomination of Dr. Janette Nesheiwat for U.S. Surgeon General.
• You know who you can thank for this? How about Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT)?
• Her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, where Sanders is the ranking member, had been scheduled for today.
• The withdrawal follows questions about how she has portrayed her education and credentials on social media and in past media appearances.
• In one example, Nesheiwat's public profile on Linkedin listed an M.D. degree from the University of Arkansas. Um, that’s a lie. The University of Arkansas verified that Nesheiwat completed her residency there, but was not granted a degree.
• She actually received her medical degree from the prestigious (cough) American University of the Caribbean in St. Maarten. Snort.
• But wait, this is funnier. Nesheiwat was getting it from both sides.
• Conservative crazy person Laura Loomer opposed Neshewiat's confirmation because of her support for COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic.
• But wait, there’s more. Nesheiwat previously served as a medical contributor for Fox News.
• Could this continue to get worse? Let’s see…
• Her brother-in-law is the infamous Mike Waltz, who was recently removed as President Trump's national security adviser.
• Snorrrrrrrtttttt.
• Immediately after, Dumpy switched up his pick for U.S. Surgeon General to quack author and wellness influencer Dr. Casey Means, another anti-vaxxer who’s a pal of RFK, Jr.
• Means runs a website that markets various supplements and personal products. Good luck, everyone. May the odds be ever in your favor.
• Moving on to some shitty news that I find to be an outrage and yet not surprising in the least, especially in the world of Donnie Dump.
• Late Tuesday night, House Republicans approved an amendment that authorizes the sale of thousands of acres of federal public land in Nevada and Utah.
• That’s our land. It belongs to the public. Now they’re selling it and pocketing the profits.
• The House Natural Resources committee approved the amendment after previously lying to us and indicating federal land sales wouldn't be included in a budget reconciliation bill.
• Democrats and environmentalists say the amendment is part of a broader far right push for a wholesale transfer of federal public lands.
• Environmentalists have also seized on a leaked Department of Interior plan that calls for giving more land management authority to local governments and the release of federal holdings to build housing.
• They say it's a blueprint for a looming wholesale transfer of federal land to states or private entities like energy companies.
• Fucking pieces of shit.
• And while we’re in shitty news mode…
• Yesterday, a state jury found three former Memphis police officers not guilty of second-degree murder in the 2023 beating death of Tyre Nichols that helped galvanize a movement to reform police conduct.
• After police pulled over Nichols for a traffic stop, they beat the 29-year-old FedEx worker to death.
• One pepper sprayed Nichols and then beat him with his baton. Another kicked and punched him. An additional 22 minutes passed before a stretcher was brought out for Nichols and he was taken to a hospital in critical condition. He died in the hospital three days later.
• And now they’re “not guilty.”
• Note that the three officers were already found guilty of several federal charges, including excessive force resulting in injury, but were acquitted last year of the most serious ones, including civil rights violations resulting in death. They have not been sentenced on those charges yet.
• Nothing ever really changes. Black people will always be killed by cops, and they will almost always get away with it.
• Moving on with some much-needed good news, and a follow-up from a story we posted recently.
• Yesterday, the Republican challenger for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat conceded last November’s election to Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs, two days after a federal judge ruled that potentially thousands of disputed ballots challenged by Jefferson Griffin must remain in the final tally.
• Griffin said he would not appeal Monday’s decision by U.S. District Judge Richard Myers, who also ordered that the State Board of Elections certify results that show Riggs is the winner by 734 votes from over 5.5 million ballots cast in the race.
• Riggs will now be officially elected to an eight-year term as an associate justice. She is one of two Democrats on the seven-member state Supreme Court, and winning improved the party’s efforts to retake a court majority later in the decade.
• In more news from the Politics Desk…
• Republican senators are begging insane person Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) not to run in next year’s Georgia Senate race.
• They are — very understandably — concerned that some of the “crazy” things she’s said might come back to hurt her in a general election race against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA).
• Greene says she is looking seriously at either running for governor or for Senate in 2026 and expressed confidence that she could win a primary contest, and I think that’s true.
• And those chances got a boost this week when Gov. Brian Kemp (R), Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s (R-SD) top recruit for the race, said he won’t challenge Ossoff.
• But I also agree with the smarter Republicans in that Marge’s completely insane record of statements — think “Jewish space lasers” — would cause her to lose handily in the general election — like former NFL star Herschel Walker did in the 2022 Georgia Senate race.
• Run Marge run! Ha ha ha ha haaaa.
• In less funny news…
• Pranks are fucking stupid, and the phenomenon of filming pranks to post them on socials is even more stupid.
• Ask this dead kid about it.
• Michael Bosworth Jr., 18, and two others had been knocking on strangers’ doors around 3am, recording videos of themselves performing “ding dong ditches” for TikTok.
• Sure enough, a search of the social media platform reveals a page named “The Ding Dong Ditch Challenge,” featuring a plethora of videos, some of which have garnered millions of views.
• Someone called 911 to report a burglary in progress, summoning Spotsylvania County sheriff’s deputies to a quiet, suburban neighborhood near Fredericksburg.
• And then a resident opened fire, hitting Bosworth in the torso, and he died at Mary Washington Hospital on the day of his prom. He was days away from his final high school lacrosse game and weeks away from graduating from Massaponax High School.
• Tyler Chase Butler was arrested n the incident on charges of second-degree murder, malicious wounding, and use of a firearm in commission of a felony.
• But the person who made the emergency call reported a resident had fired shots after three people tried to kick down a door. So… it’s obviously sad, but play stupid games, and win stupid prizes.
• In “Not All Men” news…
• Actor Michael Pitt, known for his TV roles on “Boardwalk Empire” and “Dawson’s Creek,” is accused of sexually assaulting his ex-girlfriend, choking her, and attacking her with a cinder block and a piece of lumber at his New York City home.
• Pitt, 44, whose lawyers denied the allegations, was arrested on nine counts, including first-degree sexual abuse, criminal sexual acts, assault, attempted assault, and strangulation. He denies the allegations.
• I’ll bet he does.
• Moving on.
• How about some good news? I like good news.
• Earlier this year, Utah and Idaho’s Republican-controlled legislatures passed bans on flying the rainbow pride flags and other “unofficial flags” on government property.
• Boooo!
• So leaders in both states’ capital cities, Salt Lake City and Boise, recently devised an inventive workaround — changing their official flags.
• Salt Lake City’s mayor, Erin Mendenhall, proposed the adoption of three new city flags, which were unanimously approved by the city council. All three have the city’s traditional design, respectively imposed over a pride flag, a trans flag and a Juneteenth commemoration flag.
• Fuck yes! I love shit like that.
• I’m sure a lot of you know this weird-ass fact, but I’ll write it anyway.
• The former bass player for the Rolling Stones, Bill Wyman, is now 88 years old, which is cool.
• But in 1989, when Bill was 52, he married 18-year-old Mandy Smith, whom he had fallen in love with when she was 13 (ew!) and — according to Smith — started having sex with when she was 14. That is not at all cool.
• They divorced after a year. And now the story gets weird.
• In 1993, Wyman's son Stephen Wyman married Patsy Smith, the 46-year-old mother of Mandy Smith.
• That made Bill his own son's ex-son-in-law, the father-in-law of his ex-mother-in-law, and the step-grandfather of his ex-wife.
• What the actual fuck, man? People are fucked up.
• And now, The Weather: “Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)” by Fiona Apple
• Let’s do a chart.
• It’s May 1989. I am back in college after a couple years of figuring out what I want to do with my life. And I am working at a Sunglass Hut in a mall, where I will shortly meet a woman, start dating her, move in together, marry, have a child with, and eventually divorce some 14 years later.
• And so life goes. Also, don’t marry the person you date when you’ve just turned 20 years old. Just my advice. Here’s the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at the time.
• 1. Like A Prayer (Madonna). 2. I'll Be There For You (Bon Jovi). 3. Real Love (Jody Watley). 4. Funky Cold Medina (Tone-Loc). 5. Forever Your Girl (Paula Abdul). 6. Second Chance (.38 Special). 7. After All (Love Theme From "Chances Are") (Cher & Peter Cetera). 8. Soldier Of Love (Donny Osmond). 9. Room To Move (Animotion). 10. She Drives Me Crazy (Fine Young Cannibals). 11. Heaven Help Me (Deon Estus). 12. Thinking Of You (SaFire). 13. Cult Of Personality (Living Colour). 14. Rock On (From "Dream A Little Dream") (Michael Damian). 15. Iko Iko (From "Rain Man") (The Belle Stars). 16. Sincerely Yours (Sweet Sensation With Romeo J.D.). 17. Electric Youth (Debbie Gibson). 18. Patience (Guns N' Roses). 19. Wind Beneath My Wings (From "Beaches") (Bette Midler). 20. Every Little Step (Bobby Brown).
• From the Sports Desk… playoff scores are here.
• In the NBA: the Knicks were getting their asses kicked by the Celtics through three quarters, and then hit the gas, scoring 30 in the 4th and winning 91-90. They’re now up 2-0 in the series with both games road wins, stunning the higher-seeded team. The Thunder opened up an offensive can of whoop-ass on the Nuggets with a 149-106 win, tying their series at 1-1.
• In the NHL: the Maple Leafs beat the Panthers 4-3, taking a 2-0 lead in that series. The Stars beat the Jets 3-2, taking a 1-0 lead in the series.
• Today in history… The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi (453 BC). Hernando de Soto stops near present-day Walls, Mississippi, and sees the Mississippi River (1541). American forces led by Zachary Taylor defeat a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande in the first major battle of the Mexican-American war (1846). Pharmacist John Pemberton first sells a carbonated beverage named "Coca-Cola" as a patent medicine (1886). Paramount Pictures is founded (1912). The Beatles release their 12th and final studio album ‘Let It Be’ (1970). The World Health Organization confirms the eradication of smallpox (1980). The USSR announces a boycott upon the Summer Olympics at Los Angeles, later joined by 14 other countries (1984). 
• May 8 is the birthday of UK prime minister William Cavendish (1720), businessman William Henry Vanderbilt (1821), president Harry S. Truman (1884), film director Roberto Rossellini (1906), singer-songwriter/guitarist Robert Johnson (1911), environmentalist David Attenborough (1926), comedian/actor Don Rickles (1926), author Peter Benchley (1940), singer-songwriter/actor Ricky Nelson (1940), singer-songwriter Toni Tennille (1940), bass player Paul Samwell-Smith (1943), singer-songwriter/guitarist Danny Whitten (1943), singer-songwriter/pedophile Gary Glitter (1944), pianist/composer Keith Jarrett (1945), singer-songwriter Philip Bailey (1951),   NBA player/coach Mike D’Antoni (1951), drummer/music producer Chris Frantz (1951), drummer Alex Van Halen (1953), NFL player/coach Lovie Smith (1958), NFL player Ronnie Lott (1959), politician Bill de Blasio (1961), actress/union leader Melissa Gilbert (1964), singer-songwriter Enrique Iglesias (1975), guitarist Joe Bonamassa (1977), and rapper 6ix9ine (1996).

Okay, Gotta go. Kat will be fine, by the way. Enjoy your day.