Random News: July 14, 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 14, 2025, and it’s a Monday. It's oddly dark here this morning. Not in any kind of poetic way; the rising sun just isn’t able to work its way through the cloud cover and I’m considering turning on a light.

• Hey, what was that thing that Donnie Dump wanted us to stop talking about? Oh yeah, it was his relationship with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
• One little tidbit that seems to be getting ignored while the MAGA civil war continues over the disposition of the Epstein files.
• Epstein was running his child sex ring out of Florida. Who was the Attorney General of that state during that time period?
• Oh, that would be Pam Bondi.
• So… what is in the Epstein files about Bondi herself? Was she protecting Epstein during her tenure as Florida AG?
• Let’s do some news.
• Lest you assume that the aftermath of the Central Texas floods was already in the past — or that we had forgotten that the efforts were ongoing — neither of those things are the case.
• Yesterday, another bout of heavy rain hit the area, driving significant flooding on Sunday that prompted authorities to suspend search efforts for victims of the deadly July 4 flooding across the state’s Hill Country.
• Volunteers were ordered to halt their work and remove all equipment, boats, and other vehicles from the Guadalupe River. State Highway 39, a major artery running alongside the river, was closed to traffic except for first responders and local residents.
• Some places were closing in on 10 inches of rain as of yesterday morning, including in Kerrville and the area around Camp Mystic, where more than two dozen campers and counselors died amid the catastrophic disaster.
• Flood watches also blanket much of central and eastern Oklahoma southeast of Tulsa, and the northwest corner of Arkansas, including Fayetteville. Cities at risk in Texas include Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Angelo.
• Why are we having historic flooding? Because mankind-accelerated climate change is warming the atmosphere, which then holds more moisture and allows for severe storms to dump even more rain.
• We’re far past being able to reverse our impact on the planet, but we can definitely slow it down by minimizing our use of fossil fuels and putting money and research into alternative energy solutions.
• But I find it unlikely that we will, and I find it especially unlikely that many people in Texas support these necessary actions, even if they save their own lives in doing so.
• On a related topic, let’s chat about the government’s response to help the victims of the floods thus far.
• This is the responsibility of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose leadership left the Federal Emergency Management Agency unprepared to handle the flooding.
• Noem — a woman who once shot a puppy in the head because she didn’t like it — instituted a policy requiring her personal sign-off on FEMA expenditures over $100,000. That is one of many things that has hampered the disaster response.
• More people should be talking about the fact that FEMA laid off hundreds of call center contractors in the middle of the crisis on July 5.
• Until that point, FEMA had answered well over 99 percent of the calls coming its way on that day. Afterwards, the agency responded to just 36 percent and 16 percent of calls over the following two days.
• That’s when Noem finally renewed the contracts five days after they first lapsed.
• But Noem herself insists that, “These emergencies need to be conducted exactly how President Trump handled this one.”
• But Dump wants to eliminate FEMA altogether. Last month, he mused about weaning states off FEMA and previously cut off billions in funding for disaster preparedness.
• So like I’ve told you over and over — and over — do not expect anyone to come save you when disaster affects you and your family. With Dump in charge, you are on your own.
• Let’s move on.
• It was disclosed yesterday that hundreds of detainees who were abducted and are now being held at the notorious new “Alligator Alcatraz” concentration camp in the Florida Everglades have no criminal record or have any criminal charges against them.
• Dumpy — in another lie in a long series of lies — has insisted that the remote camp in swamp land populated by pythons and alligators was reserved for immigrants who were “deranged psychopaths” and “some of the most vicious people on the planet” awaiting deportation.
• But of the 700 people being held in cages, at least 250 of them had committed no criminal offense whatsoever beyond a civil immigration violation.
• Those people shouldn’t be jailed at all; rather, they should be being helped to assist them in remaining in the US as legal residents, as have generations of people before them.
• What if we did this to the Italian and Irish people who flocked to our shores in the 19th and 20th centuries, looking for a better life? Why would that be acceptable, or not?
• In related news…
• Florida lawmakers who took a limited — some would say sanitized — tour of the concentration camp described the conditions as “inhumane.”
• Dozens of detainees are housed in each cell where they experience sweltering heat, bug infestations, meager meals, and a complete lack of privacy.
• And that’s just based on what they were allowed to see. The lawmakers were barred from viewing the medical facilities or meeting any of the detainees, though at least one cried out for help, saying he was a U.S. citizen.
• How could we possibly know? They could put anyone in place like that, including you.
• Let’s move on.
• Over at the International Desk, some depressing news…
• Yesterday, ten people — mostly children — were killed in a strike at a water distribution site in central Gaza. The Israeli military called the deadly incident the result of a “technical error” with a munition.
• The Israeli military said it was “aware of the claim regarding casualties” and is investigating the incident. “The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians.”
• Israel dropped an explosive directly on top of children who were lining up to fill water containers. People had been waiting since the morning due to the scarcity of water in the area.
• Over this weekend alone, more than 130 people were killed and over 400 injured in Gaza, taking the death toll since the war broke out to more than 58,000.
• Women and children make up more than half of those killed. And about 7,500 of those people killed were those who died after the alleged ceasefire between Israel and Hamas broke on March 18.
• And Donnie Dump feels he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his actions in the region, while his pal Netanyahu keeps killing innocent people using American munitions.
• Moving on.
• At least a few Republican Senators are feeling at least mildly uncomfortable about Dumpy having taken away all of their power that’s defined by the U.S. Constitution.
• Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is headed for a showdown this week with a group of Republican senators over a House-passed package that claws back $9.4 billion in funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and global public health programs.
• Members of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, including Chair Susan Collins (R-ME), are not keen on cutting programs they have already funded through bipartisan appropriations bills.
• “I definitely want the PEPFAR cuts and the child and maternal health and other global health cuts removed, but I don’t know how Sen. Thune’s going to structure the process. He’s not shared that with me,” said Collins.
• The Maine senator said she also had strong concerns about proposed cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
• “Strong concerns.” Shut the fuck up, Susan. You’ll do the same thing you’ve always done, which is to make little statements and then do whatever you’re told by Dump, and fuck over the citizens of your state.
• And then claim you didn’t understand what you were doing. For God’s sake, Maine, get her the fuck out of there.
• And now, a message from Barack Obama: stop being fucking pussies.
• On Friday night at a fundraiser, Obama told it like it is.
• “I think it’s going to require a little bit less navel-gazing and a little less whining and being in fetal positions. And it’s going to require Democrats to just toughen up,” said Obama.
• “You know, don’t tell me you’re a Democrat, but you’re kind of disappointed right now, so you’re not doing anything. No, now is exactly the time that you get in there and do something. Don’t say that you care deeply about free speech and then you’re quiet. No, you stand up for free speech when it’s hard. What’s needed now is courage.”
• He’s right. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Get the fuck up. Do something.
• Jesus, go to a protest. Just go. Stand there. Be there. There’s one this Thursday night somewhere near you.
• Join us for “Good Trouble Lives On.” Link in the comments.
• And remember: this is the MINIMAL shit you can do. This is what we do before we do the other shit… like a general strike, or violent clashes with government forces, or worse. So protest now, while you can.
• And now, The Weather: “Affectionately” by Raisa K
• Let’s do a chart.
• It’s mid-July 2000. I am 31 years old. I have a son who’s recently turned one. I have a pretty high-level gig as the head of marketing for a well-known company making professional audio products.
• But my life is pretty tumultuous at the time. My marriage is definitely not going well. My job is super demanding and has me out of town a lot.
• One note from close to this time: since the late ‘90s, I’d been active on Internet Usenet groups — a precursor of Internet-based things to come. But 2000 was when Internet forums became popular, predating all modern aspects of social media.
• It was my participation on forums relating to music creation in 2000 that became a turning point for a lot of my social life for the 25 years since then.
• But that’s another story. Here’s the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at the time. It… isn’t great, or utter shit, with just a couple of tunes that were reasonably meaningful.
• 1. Be With You (Enrique Iglesias). 2. Try Again (Aaliyah). 3. I Turn To You (Christina Aguilera). 4. I Wanna Know (Joe). 5. The Real Slim Shady (Eminem). 6. Everything You Want (Vertical Horizon). 7. It's Gonna Be Me (*NSYNC). 8. Breathe (Faith Hill). 9. You Sang To Me (Marc Anthony). 10. There You Go (P!nk). 11. Higher (Creed). 12. Bent (matchbox twenty). 13. Thong Song (Sisqo). 14. Oops!...I Did It Again (Britney Spears). 15. He Wasn't Man Enough (Toni Braxton). 16. I Try (Macy Gray). 17. Absolutely (Story Of A Girl) (Nine Days). 18. Back Here (BBMak). 19. Maria Maria (Santana Featuring The Product G&B). 20. Swear It Again (Westlife).
• From the Sports Desk… Wimbledon is done. That was fun for awhile.
• It was a big match between top-ranked Jannik Sinner and two-time champion (and world’s 2-seed) Carlos Alcaraz, and it even started out with Alcaraz winning the first set.
• But yesterday, Sinner turned it around, winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to claim his first Wimbledon title and fourth major championship.
• Today in history… Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Philip II (1223). Storming of the Bastille in Paris (1789). The Sedition Act of 1798 becomes law in the United States making it a federal crime to write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the United States government (1789). The first ascent of the Matterhorn is completed by Edward Whymper and his party, four of whom die on the descent (1865). The Chicago Fire of 1874 burns down 47 acres of the city, destroying 812 buildings, killing 20, and resulting in the fire insurance industry demanding municipal reforms from Chicago's city council (1874). American outlaw Billy the Kid is shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in the Maxwell House at Fort Sumner, NM (1881). In a decree called the Gleichschaltung, Adolf Hitler abolishes all German political parties except the Nazis (1933). Jane Goodall arrives at the Gombe Stream Reserve in present-day Tanzania to begin her study of chimpanzees in the wild (1960). Mariner 4 flyby of Mars takes the first close-up photos of another planet (1965). ‘Mario Bros.’ is released in Japan, beginning the popular ‘Super Mario Bros’ franchise (1983). NASA's New Horizons probe performs the first flyby of Pluto, and thus completes the initial survey of the Solar System (2015).
• July 14 is the birthday of Japan emperor Murakami (926), Tuscan grand duke Ferdinando II de’ Medici (1610), journalist/diplomat Mordecai Manuel Noah (1785), painter Gustav Klimt (1862), animator William Hanna (1910), singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie (1912), US president Gerald Ford (1913), film director Igmar Bergman (1918), businessman Robert Zildjian (1923), actor Harry Dean Stanton (1926), NFL player Rosie Grier (1932), activist Jerry Rubin (1938), drummer/murderer Jim Gordon (1945), US army general Claudia J. Kennedy (1947), music executive Tommy Mottola (1949), singer-songwriter/actor Kyle Gass (1960), actor Jackie Earle Haley (1961), MLB player Robin Ventura (1967), martial artist Conor McGregor (1988), and NFL player Harrison Butker (1995).

Well, let’s get going on a new week. I have a busy day ahead, but when every day is a busy day, you don’t get too stressed about it. When weird is your normal, you flow with the weirdness and try and make it your own. or something. Enjoy your day.