Random News: July 10, 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 July 10, 2025, and it’s a Thursday for some reason. I’m Zak, your guy who looks at news for you and delivers it to you in bite-size chunks, all for free.

• Since the Texas flood tragedy is still ongoing, a quick update here up top.
• The death toll has climbed to about 120, but there are still another 160 reported missing. It’s all horrible news. Hopefully those folks get the help they need to get back on their feet.
• But almost instantly, FEMA ran into bureaucratic obstacles in trying to provide the much-needed help.
• Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — whose department oversees FEMA — recently enacted a sweeping rule aimed at cutting spending: Every contract and grant over $100,000 now requires her personal sign-off before any funds can be released.
• It’s slowing aid efforts to a crawl. FEMA’s disaster response costs routinely soar into the billions in contracts with on-the-ground crews.
• For example, as central Texas towns were submerged in rising waters, FEMA officials realized they couldn’t pre-position Urban Search and Rescue crews from a network of teams stationed regionally across the country.
• In the past, FEMA would have swiftly staged these teams, which are specifically trained for situations including catastrophic floods, closer to a disaster zone in anticipation of urgent requests.
• And for months now, FEMA officials have been warning that the agency is unprepared amid a mass exodus of experienced emergency managers and the looming threat of the agency being dismantled.
• One final note for now.
• Recently-released dispatch audio shows that Kerr County officials waited 90 minutes to send emergency alert after it was requested.
• It was at at 4:22am on Friday that a firefighter in Ingram — just upstream from Kerrville — asked the Kerr County Sheriff's Office to alert nearby residents. But Kerr County officials took nearly six hours to heed this call.
• Let’s move on.
• At the risk of being repetitive, I want to once again mention that on the evening of Thursday July 17, we have another nationwide action event planned… and I want you to plan to be there.
• I’ll include a link in the comments so you can find a map with your local event.
• Good Trouble Lives On is a national day of nonviolent action to respond to the attacks posed on our civil and human rights by the Dump administration and to remind them that in America, the power lies with the people. 
• July 17 is the anniversary of civil rights icon John Lewis’ passing, and we are mobilizing across the country to demand that Congress protect our rights and ensure free and fair elections for all.
• The focus of GTLO is demanding an end to…
• The extreme crackdown on our civil rights by the Dump administration, from our right to vote to our right to protest and free speech.
• The attacks on Black and brown Americans, immigrants, trans people, and other communities.
• The slashing of programs that working people rely on, including Medicaid, SNAP, and Social Security. 
• It’s a week from tonight on a street near you. Join us.
• Moving on.
• You know how deeply focused many MAGA voters were on sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, and perhaps for good reason.
• If there was some situation where the world’s wealthy and powerful people were participants in a massive organized sex ring, it’s something that should see the light of day… especially if many of those people remain in influential roles.
• Especially if, as apparently was the case, the victims were unwilling and/or underaged.
• It doesn’t seem as if many Dump supporters are willing to just forget about Epstein and his infamous alleged client list, as Dump is angrily telling them to do. His reaction when asked about the list…
• “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy's been talked about for years... We have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things, and are people still talking about this guy? This creep? I can't believe you're asking a question about Epstein at a time like this."
• Well, many MAGAs aren’t quite read to just walk away, like Donnie desperately wants them to. Here are a number of quotes posted yesterday from MAGA people on the topic…
• ”If he didn't want to talk about Epstein, why did his administration make a huge show about it with giant binders, not release anything new, then try to sweep it under the rug? It makes him look complicit."
• ”That is concerning as fuck. Do not let your partisanship blind you. Any president who says, 'Are you seriously asking about the biggest pedophile of all time, where no arrests have been made?!' Should concern EVERYONE."
• ”Now we get, 'Why are you still on this,' and literally accused of being heartless for asking. Fuck Trump for this. But I still support much of what he's doing."
• ”Yes. I'm beyond pissed at this. We've been promised by the FBI director, the Attorney General, and the deputy director of the FBI over and over again."
• ”I worked for Donald Trump. Voted for Trump three times. This makes me done with Trump. Can’t defend a pedophile sympathizer. Won’t do it."
• I’d say “Let’s move on,” but I don’t think these folks are ready to move on.
• And one more note about the Epstein list…
• There are people out there saying, “Yeah, but what if (insert Democratic leader name) is on that list?”
• Then lock them up and throw away the key! That’s a huge difference between liberal and conservative voters. We don’t care what side you’re on; if you’ve done something horribly wrong, we don’t feel like anyone is above the law.
• Anyway… let’s move on.
• In a big “fuck you” to Dump, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a massive aerial assault on Ukraine early today for the second time in two days.
• More than 400 Russian drones and missiles rained down overnight on Kyiv, killing two people and injuring 17 others, according to city officials.
• It came after Ukraine’s air force said Russia had fired a record 728 Shahed and decoy drones, as well as 13 cruise and ballistic missiles, overnight on Tuesday.
• This renewed attack comes after a very puzzling pause by the Dump administration to blocking the shipment of air defense weapons it froze last week.
• Yesterday, a reporter with at least some balls asked Dump, "Yesterday, you said that you were not sure who ordered the munitions halted to Ukraine. Have you since been able to figure that out?"
• “Well, I haven't thought about it, because we're looking at Ukraine right now and munitions, but I have, no I have not gone into it," said a confused Dumpy.
• The reporter followed up by asking, "What does it say that such a big decision could be made inside your government without you knowing?"
• Yeah Donnie, would could that happen? We thought you were in charge.
• Dumpy got petulant, saying, "I would know if a decision was made, I will know. I'll be the first to know. In fact, most likely I'd give the order, but I haven't done that yet."
• Okay Donnie.
• We really should acknowledge that our president is a blithering idiot.
• Yesterday at a lunch with African leaders at the White House, Dumples the Cultural Clown was extremely impressed with President Joseph Boakai of LiIberia.
• Specifically, his ability to speak the English language.
• After Boakai completed his brief remarks, Dumpy said, “Thank you, and such good English.”
• “Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?” he continued as the Liberian president let out a polite chuckle.
• Dumpy kept pushing on. “Where? Were you educated? Where? In Liberia?” Dump asked again.
• “Yes, sir,” the Liberian president replied.
• “That’s very interesting. It’s beautiful language,” Dump said.
• NEWS FLASH: the language of Liberia IS FUCKING ENGLISH, you fucking orange twatwaffle idiot moron buffoon piece of dung ass fuck…
• Sigh.
• Liberia is a nation founded by African Americans, both formerly enslaved and freeborn, who moved to Africa beginning in 1822. The only language that’s ever been spoken there… is English.
• Let’s move on.
• It’s time to talk a bit about California Governor Gavin Newsom.
• Why? Because it’s obvious that he’s taking steps toward a 2028 presidential run.
• This week, Newsom embarked on a two-day swing through rural South Carolina as the high-profile Democrat seeks to position himself as a leader for a party in rebuilding mode.
• Newsom alternated between defiance toward Dump and familiarity with voters in the early primary state during his roughly 15-minute address at a stop in Bennettsville, sharply criticizing the administration and referring to the opening of Dump’s second term as “an alarming six months.”
• “It’s not what happens to us, it’s how we respond to it. And our opportunity presents itself anew. In 18 months, you have the power to end Donald Trump’s presidency,” Newsom said to loud applause from the full room.
• And he added, “We’ll have to deal with the tweets, we’ll have to deal with the attacks and the bullying. But the legislative agenda is effectively over. You have that power in these midterms.”
• He’s right.
• Anyway, 2028 is a long way off, and from a voting perspective, your focus should be completely on the 2026 Midterm elections regardless.
• But Newsom is going to be a force in the next presidential election. Bet on it.
• Moving on.
• Dumpy has a strange way of leading the USA based on his personal grudges.
• Yesterday, he said he would impose a 50% tariff on goods from Brazil next month, one of the steepest rates for any U.S. trading partner, citing the criminal prosecution of his buddy, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
• Unlike many other countries that have been threatened with tariff hikes, the U.S. runs a trade surplus with Brazil, meaning Brazil buys more American goods than the U.S. buys from Brazil. Last year, the U.S. exported about $49 billion worth of goods to Brazil, and Brazil exported just over $42 billion in goods to the U.S..
• But as you may recall, Bolsonaro was indicted last year for allegedly attempting a coup to remain in office after Lula defeated him in the 2022 elections.
• The plan allegedly included dozens of people and involved a plot to poison Lula and shoot a Brazilian Supreme Court justice.
• And now Dump is trying to fuck all of Brazil for not accepting the illegal actions of its former leader.
• Let’s move on.
• A scary local story from last night: 31 people working in a massive underground tunnel in the Wilmington area of Los Angeles — not very far from where I live — were rescued after a portion of the structure collapsed.
• Amazingly, none of the rescued workers had any visible injuries. 
• The collapse occurred approximately five to six miles from the sole entry and exit point of the tunnel and about 400 feet below ground. The tunnel is part of a municipal wastewater project.
• That sounds like a nightmare. Glad they’re all safe.
• In other news…
• It was 100 years ago today that a public high school teacher stood trial in Dayton, Tennessee, for teaching human evolution.
• The law books record it as State of Tennessee v. John T. Scopes. History remembers it as the “Scopes Monkey Trial.”
• And that Tennessee jury found Scopes guilty of violating the state’s Butler Act — of teaching “any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible.”
• Yup!
• The case ultimately reached the Tennessee Supreme Court, which upheld the law but acquitted Scopes on a technicality.
• But still today, 100 years later, we’re dealing with public schools that refute proven science over Biblical teachings.
• Maybe we’ll learn someday.
• And now, The Weather: “Strangest Feeling” by Bonniesongs
• A personal note…
• At least if you live in a major metropolitan area, never — I repeat, never — go to the DMV without an appointment. I spent three precious hours of my life there yesterday to finally upgrade to a Real ID.
• Here in the LA area, a DMV appointment can be weeks away, and I didn’t have that long to spare.
• I’d even been told that if you have to show up with no appointment, Wednesday morning was a good day to do so. It actually looked pretty peaceful when I first pulled in, though the parking lot was suspiciously full.
• How it works here: you scan a QR code from a sign in front. Then you enter all of your info into a form via your phone. And THEN you get assigned a number and find out how many people are in line in front of you.
• In my case, it was 92 people. FUCK. But I stuck it out, and beyond the aspect of there just being too many people in greater Los Angeles for any kind of bureaucratic speed, the actual people working there were friendly and efficient.
• From the Sports Desk… Devin Booker got paid.
• The Phoenix Suns superstar agreed to a two-year, $145 million maximum contract extension with the franchise through the 2029-30 season, the highest annual extension salary in NBA history,
• Holy shit.
• Today in history… Emperor Hadrian of Rome dies of heart failure at his residence on the bay of Naples (138). Prince Naka-no-Ōe and Fujiwara no Kamatari assassinate Soga no Iruka during a coup d'état at the imperial palace (645). King Canute IV of Denmark is killed by rebellious peasants (1986). Lady Jane Grey, a teenage girl, takes the throne of England for nine days (1553). Louis XVI of France declares war on Great Britain to aid the American Revolution (1778). Wyoming is admitted as the 44th U.S. state (1890). Belfast's Bloody Sunday occurs with 20 killings, at least 100 wounded and 200 homes destroyed during rioting and gun battles in Belfast, Northern Ireland (1921). In Dayton, Tennessee, the so-called "Monkey Trial" begins of John T. Scopes, a young high school science teacher accused of teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act (1925). Telstar, the world's first communications satellite, is launched into orbit (1962). Boris Yeltsin takes office as the first elected President of Russia (1991). In women's soccer, the United States defeated China in a penalty shoot-out at the Rose Bowl near Los Angeles to win the final match of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup (1999). The last Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the line in Puebla, Mexico (2019).
• July 10 is the birthday of theologian John Calvin (1509), US vice-president George Dallas (1792), brewer Adolphus Busch (1839), physicist Nikola Tesla (1856), novelist Marcel Proust (1871), philanthropist/art collector Ima Hogg (1882), singer/guitarist Blind Boy Fuller (1907), journalist David Brinkley (1920), activist Eunice Kennedy Shriver (1921), boxer Jake LaMotta (1922), actor Fred Gwynne (1926), politician David Dinkins (1927), singer Mavis Staples (1939), singer-songwriter Ronnie James Dio (1942), tennis player Arthur Ashe (1943), actor Ron Glass (1945), singer-songwriter Arlo Guthrie (1947), singer-songwriter Greg Kihn (1949), singer-songwriter Neil Tennant (1954), banjoist/composer Béla Fleck (1958), drummer Sandy West (1959), actress Sophia Vergara (1972), singer-songwriter Jessica Simpson (1980), NFL player Antonio Brown (1988), and pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng (2024).

Alrighty. Gotta roll. Enjoy your day.