Random News: June 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 June 26, 2025, and it’s a Thursday for some reason. I received a batch of coffee straight form Peet’s, and am now sipping on an absolutely fucking delightful cup of Zenith Summer Blend. It’s like summer… in my mouth!

• Before we do today’s Pride Note, an important historical moment needs to acknowledged.
• It was 10 years ago on this very day — June 26, 2015 — that a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalized same-sex marriage across the U.S.
• I was fortunate enough to have a big live music show that day, and got to announce the decision to my audience, then performed “The Rainbow Connection” by Kermit the Frog in celebration.
• There weren’t a lot of dry eyes in the house.
• The Obergefell v. Hodges ruling — a 5-4 SCOTUS decision — followed years of national wrangling during which some states moved to protect domestic partnerships or civil unions for same-sex partners, and others declared that marriage could exist only between one man and one woman.
• It was a hard-fought victory for civil rights in the USA… but like most of our rights, Obergefell v. Hodges is constantly under attack, and the fight continues to this day.
• Now our Pride Note…
• From time to time, you’ll see a news story of someone coming out or being open about their sexual orientation. Maybe it’s an athlete announcing a same-sex engagement, or a celebrity posting pics with their loved one.
• And invariably, there’s a comment — from a bot or otherwise cult-afflicted person — that seems to get posted almost immediately.
• “Who cares?”
• Let me tell you what that really means.
• That means, “I am not emotionally capable of showing support for peoples’ happiness. I need to react a certain way to appease my social group because I am weak. I didn’t need to comment at all, but I put this here so that no one might get any ideas that I am also gay via my silence. You’ve made me uncomfortable by being public about your contentment and excitement, because I am not able or willing to do that about myself, and that upsets me.”
• I know, it’s a lot to pull from a two-word response.
• I’m not here to stifle your freedom of speech or of expression. But I have to wonder, each time I see a “Who cares?” response, what’s really behind it.
• And I assume it’s a desperately unhappy person. It doesn’t need to be that way.
• Some alternatives: “Congrats.” “Good for you!” “Happy for you.” “Best of luck!”
• Or again, the option of not responding at all. If you truly didn’t care, that’s what you’d do. You obviously do care, though. That’s one thing we can all see.
• Relevant side note: as I remind people from time to time, hate isn’t the opposite of love. Hate and love are both very intense emotions. The opposite of love is indifference.
• Let’s do some news.
• There’s a lot of “he said, she said” going on in regard to the effectiveness of the USA’s bombing raid on Iranian nuclear sites.
• On one side, you have Dumpy and his defense secretary Pete Hegseth who say the attacks were "a historic success,” obliterating Iran’s nuclear program.
• On the other, you have Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying that the U.S. “failed to achieve anything significant" in its attacks on Iran's key nuclear facilities.
• Since I don’t trust either of these resources of info, let’s break down a couple of points. There are some actual facts here.
• Did those six massive US bunker-busting bombs, the GBU-57s, all hit their targets in the mountain at Fordo? Yes.
• Were they the culmination of alleged study by the Pentagon on how best to attack Iran's deeply-buried uranium enrichment systems? Yes.
• Did they choose the best line of attack — the ventilation shafts — then detonate at the right depth to achieve maximum effect? Yes.
• If you leave it at that — the pure tactical aspects of the mission where the B-2 pilots who flew an extraordinary 37-hour mission to drop multiple 13-ton bunker-busting bombs — they fulfilled their mission to the letter.
• Now the part that we don’t know.
• In what condition are Iran’s centrifuges? Where is the missing 408kg of highly enriched uranium? How much material was moved out of Fordo before the attack? How quickly can Iran restart its nuclear program regardless of the effectiveness of the raid?
• Unless you want to put 100% of your faith in Dump or the Ayatollah — and you can bet your ass I trust neither — there’s no way to know except to wait awhile and see what Iran does.
• Let’s move on.
• I’d like to give out an award. It’s for Asshole of the Day, and it goes to… Donnie Dump!
• I mean, it’s tough competition with him around.
• Yesterday, the Dump administration filed a lawsuit against all 15 federal judges in Maryland over an order blocking the immediate deportation of migrants challenging their removals.
• The move is, to put it mildly, unusual.
• At issue is a May order signed by Chief Judge George L. Russell III blocking the administration from immediately removing from the U.S. any immigrants who file paperwork with the Maryland district court seeking a review of their detention.
• The order blocks the removal until 4pm on the second business day after the habeas corpus petition is filed. Ya know, like the law says it should for due process. We’ve spoken about that a few times.
• But Dumpy says the automatic pause on removals violates a Supreme Court ruling and impedes his ability to enforce cruel immigration laws.
• Oh, you want to reference the Supreme Court, Donnie? How about when you tried to have a federal judge impeached over this same topic, and Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rebuke directly aimed at you, saying, "impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision."
• Anyway, let’s be clear here: it’s rare for anyone — especially the federal government — to sue the entire federal bench in a state.
• Obviously, as we adults know, the normal thing to do when parties are on the losing side of an injunction is to appeal the order — not to sue the court or judges
• It’s another clear-cut action of a fascist government.
• Let’s move on for now. We’ll keep a close on on that ridiculous shit.
• How can you tell that the victory of Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral primary is a big fucking deal?
• Because Dumpy McPoopypants completely lost his shit over it. Want to see for yourself? Look at his social post…
• “It's finally happened, the Democrats have crossed the line. Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor. We've had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous. He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he's not very smart, he's got AOC+3, Dummies ALL, backing him, and even our Great Palestinian Senator, Cryin' Chuck Schumer, is groveling over him. Yes, this is a big moment in the History of our Country!”
• Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha… catches breath… hahahahahahahahahahahaha.
• Dump sounds frightened and miserable. I could not be happier about this.
• Mamdani responded, “You know, this is not the first time that President Trump is going to comment on myself, and I encourage him — just like I encourage every New Yorker — to learn about my actual policies to make the city affordable.”
• Nice!
• Let’s move on.
• This morning, the Supreme Court allowed states to cut off Medicaid money to Planned Parenthood.
• The case centers on funding for other health care services Planned Parenthood provides in South Carolina, but the ruling will definitely have broader implications for Medicaid patients.
• The court split 6-3 in the opinion, with the three liberal justices dissenting.
• An important note: public health care money generally can’t be used to pay for abortions regardless. Medicaid patients go to Planned Parenthood for things like contraception, cancer screenings, and pregnancy testing, in part because it can be tough to find a doctor who takes the publicly funded insurance.
• And now Dump’s Big Bullshit Bill cuts Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, which will force the closure of about 200 centers, most of them in states where abortion is legal.
• Fucking pricks. All of them.
• But we do have some very good news regarding Dumpy’s shitty-ass bill.
• This morning, Senate Republicans hit a major setback in their race to pass the massive plan for tax breaks for the wealthy when the  nonpartisan Senate parliamentarian ruled against a key provision to get the conference on board to vote for the plan by week's end.
• Ha ha!
• The parliamentarian, who plays a key role in determining what provisions can stay in the fast-tracked bill, said the GOP change to how states can tax Medicaid providers does not adhere to rules for passing the bill with a simple majority.
• Other provisions were flagged by the parliamentarian, including one barring Medicaid from covering gender affirming care, and denying coverage to some Medicaid recipients who are not U.S. citizens.
• These are big wins for the people of the USA.
• Let’s move on.
• Here’s something I would never say under most typical eras of American history.
• I would not have a child right now. And I don’t mean to offend anyone that is currently trying to (or has recently had) a child.
• I’m just saying that the odds of that kid growing up to be healthy and happy seem lower than at any time within the 50+ years I’ve been on this silly little planet. I would not procreate at this moment — not that I have any plans of making more people regardless.
• But a federal vaccine advisory committee under RKF Jr. plans to review the childhood vaccination schedule and scrutinize vaccines that have been approved for decades, fueling concerns that the panel may consider changes to long-standing vaccine recommendations.
• Yesterday, the newly appointed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices convened for the first time. Earlier this month, Worm Brain fired all 17 members of the panel and appointed eight of his own, many of whom are big anti-vaxxers.
• And this independent panel makes recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about who should get certain vaccines, which can in turn influence whether the vaccines are covered by insurance.
• The new committee chair is a guy named Martin Kulldorff, who was fired from Harvard for refusing to get a COVID vaccination.
• Kennedy himself has frequently criticized the childhood vaccination schedule, including the fact that children are vaccinated against far more diseases compared with many decades ago.
• So… he’s mad… that science got better and we advanced so that children are better protected today than in 1955?
• He didn’t acknowledge that that today’s shots contain fewer antigens — the key components of vaccines that train the immune system to recognize the germ — compared with generations ago, and are therefore less taxing on the immune system.
• Anyway, maybe consider waiting out this administration so your child doesn’t suffer horrible — yet completely preventable — diseases.
• In other news…
• Even if I live to be 100, I will never stop following up on any accountability for the traitorous assholes to attempted and failed to enact a coup against the USA on January 6, 2021.
• On Monday, a federal jury awarded $500,000 to the widow and estate of Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, who killed himself nine days after he helped defend the U.S. Capitol from a mob of MAGA insurrectionists.
• One of the men Smith scuffled with during the attack was 69-year-old chiropractor David Walls-Kaufman, who now has to shell out $380,000 in punitive damages and $60,000 in compensatory damages to Jeffrey Smith’s widow Erin.
• The jury also awarded an additional $60,000 to compensate Jeffrey Smith’s estate for his pain and suffering.
• While it’s likely that the settlement will be less — or that Walls-Kaufman will appeal the verdict — it’s nice to see some measure of accountability for any of these fuckers.
• And a reminder here that Dumpy pardoned over 1,500 of these assholes. There will never be any criminal justice for what they did.
• And now, The Weather: “manny” by Retail Drugs
• Let’s do a chart.
• It’s late June, 1965. I won’t be born for almost four years. Where am I?
• Earlier that month, astronaut Edward H. White II became the first American to walk in space during the Gemini 4 mission. The South Vietnamese district headquarters and US Special Forces camp at Dong Xai were overrun by a Vietcong regiment. And there was a partial lunar eclipse.
• Here’s the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at the time.
• 1. Chapel Of Love (The Dixie Cups). 2. A World Without Love (Peter And Gordon). 3. I Get Around (The Beach Boys). 4. Love Me With All Your Heart (Cuando Calienta El Sol) (The Ray Charles Singers). 5. My Boy Lollipop (Millie Small). 6. Walk On By (Dionne Warwick). 7. Love Me Do (The Beatles). 8. People (Barbra Streisand). 9. Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying (Gerry And The Pacemakers). 10. Diane (The Bachelors). 11. Little Children (Billy J. Kramer With The Dakotas). 12. My Guy (Mary Wells). 13. Tell Me Why (Bobby Vinton). 14. Hello, Dolly! (Louis Armstrong And The All Stars). 15. Memphis (Johnny Rivers). 16. Bad To Me (Billy J. Kramer With The Dakotas). 17. Today (The New Christy Minstrels). 18. Every Little Bit Hurts (Brenda Holloway). 19. Once Upon A Time (Marvin Gaye & Mary Wells). 20. Tears And Roses (Al Martino).
• From the Sports Desk… last night was the start of the NBA Draft. As expected, the Dallas Mavericks took Duke forward Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.
• Who are the very best players in NBA history to be drafted No. 1? Well, here are the ones who made it to the Hall of Fame…
• 1958: Elgin Baylor. 1960: Oscar Robertson. 1961: Walt Bellamy. 1968 Elvin Hayes. 1969: Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul Jabbar). 1970: Bob Lanier. 1974: Bill Walton. 1975: David Thompson. 1979: Magic Johnson. 1982: James Worthy. 1983: Ralph Sampson. 1984: Hakeem Olajuwon. 1985: Patrick Ewing. 1987: David Robinson. 1992: Shaquille O’Neal. 1993: Chris Webber. 1996: Allen Iverson. 1997: Tim Duncan. 2002: Yao Ming.  2004: Dwight Howard.
• And while he’s not eligible for the Hall yet (because he’s still playing), let’s not forget the No. 1 drafted guy in 2003: LeBron James. Other No. 1 draft pick future Hall of Famers potentially include Kyrie Irving (2011), Anthony Davis (2012), and others.
• Today in history… Roman emperor Augustus adopts Tiberius (4). Richard III becomes King of England (1483). The Battle of Fleurus marks the first military use of aircraft — balloons in this case (1794). The first Grand Prix motor race is held at Le Mans (1906). The American Expeditionary Forces begin to arrive in France for WWI (1917). The United Nations Charter is signed by 50 Allied nations in San Francisco, CA (1945). William Shockley files the original patent for the grown-junction transistor, the first bipolar junction transistor (1948). Shirley Jackson's short story ‘The Lottery’ is published in The New Yorker magazine (1948). Madagascar gains its independence from France (1960). U.S. President John F. Kennedy gave his "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech, underlining the support of the United States for democratic West Germany shortly after Soviet-supported East Germany erected the Berlin Wall (1963). The Universal Product Code is scanned for the first time to sell a package of Wrigley's chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, OH (1974). Elvis Presley held his final concert in Indianapolis, IN (1977). The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Communications Decency Act violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution (1997). J. K. Rowling publishes the first of her Harry Potter novel series, ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone’ (1997). The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Lawrence v. Texas that gender-based sodomy laws are unconstitutional (2003). The U.S. Supreme Court ruled, 5–4, that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional and in violation of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution (2013). The U.S. Supreme Court ruled, 5–4, that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage under the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution (2015).
• June 26 is the birthday of astronomer Charles Messier (1730), novelist Pearl S. Buck (1892), engineer/businessman Willy Messerschmitt (1898), US Marine Chesty Puller (1898), singer-songwriter Big Bill Broonzy (1903), actor Peter Lorre (1904), athlete Babe Didrikson Zaharias (1911), illustrator/designer Milton Glaser (1929), pianist/composer Dave Grusin (1934), singer-songwriter/politician Gilberto Gil (1942), singer-songwriter Mick Jones (1955), singer-songwriter Chris Isaak (1956), singer-songwriter Patty Smyth (1957), singer-songwriter Terri Nunn (1961), NFL player Shannon Sharpe (1968), actor Sean Hayes (1970), actor Nick Offerman (1970), MLB player Derek Jeter (1974), NFL player Michael Vick (1980), actress Aubrey Plaza (1984), NBA player Rudy Gobert (1992), and singer Ariana Grande (1993).

A busy news day, to say the least. But even if you just get part of the story, it’s better than walking around in a fog of ignorance. Now you have been awakened to information and can make better decisions as a result. Enjoy your day.