Random News: July 6, 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.

---

Good morning. It’s July 6, 2025, and it’s a Sunday. I awoke kinda early and probably would have turned over and gone back to sleep, but then I remembered that for some reason, I scheduled a livestream music show on Facebook for today, and then my brain wouldn’t shut up about it, so I got out of bed and made coffee and now here I am. Probably good to get this news written and posted anyway. I have things to do.

• In as much as I hate starting with this, we need to do an update on the victims of the central Texas flood disaster.
• The flooding in Kerr County has killed at least 43 people, including 15 children, and at least eight people died in nearby counties.
• It’s still unknown how many people are missing beyond the children from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along a river in Kerr County where most of the dead were recovered.
• This horrible flood caused fast-moving waters to rise 26 feet on the Guadalupe River in just 45 minutes before daybreak Friday, washing away homes and vehicles.
• And rains continued pounding communities outside San Antonio yesterday. Flash flood warnings and watches remain in effect.
• Most of you recall seeing posts from people in Texas and elsewhere during California’s devastating fires earlier this year, with many of them saying how we “deserve” the death and devastation that occurred here.
• But I’m not like that, and I’ll never be like that.
• I will say that the massive cuts to federal weather safety organizations like the NOAA and National Weather Service will have tragic results. This is just the tip of that iceberg.
• U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said yesterday it was difficult for forecasters to predict just how much rain would fall.
• Is it, though? Or are there less forecasters and weather scientists working than there have been in many years?
• Noem said the Dump administration would make it a priority to upgrade National Weather Service technology used to deliver warnings.
• I do not believe her. And the next test is how well — and how quickly and thoroughly — FEMA responds to the thousands of victims of this disaster.
• Keep in mind that a large percentage of FEMA funds have already been diverted toward building detention camps for undocumented people, with many more planned.
• It’s unknown how they’re going to pay to help our citizens through actual emergencies and still provide the huge tax breaks to billionaires that was a big part of Dump’s agenda, and that passed with his Big Bullshit Bill that he signed on July 4.
• Moving on.
• If you were under the impression that as a white person, Dumpy’s fascist/racist takeover of the USA was someone else’s problem… think again.
• 71 year old Rick Taylor — a Los Angeles political consultant and an actual older white male guy — was pulled aside by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in Miami while returning from a trip abroad, asked if he was from California, and then separated from his family and put in a holding room with several Latino travelers for nearly an hour.
• He stated, “I know how the system works and have pretty good connections and I was still freaking out. I could only imagine how I would be feeling if I didn’t understand the language and I didn’t know anyone.”
• Taylor said he was at a loss to explain why he was singled out for extra questioning, but he speculated that perhaps it was because of the Obama-Biden t-shirt packed in his suitcase.
• He was returning from a weeklong vacation in Turks and Caicos with his wife and daughter, who were in a separate customs line, when a CBP agent asked, “Are you from California?” He said he answered, “Yeah, I live in Los Angeles.”
• That’s when he got yanked aside and throw into a holding area. About 45 minutes into his holding, Taylor said an agent asked him to collect his luggage and hand it over for inspection.
• He said he was released shortly after.
• “The agents have succeeded in making me reassess travel. I would tell others to really think twice about traveling internationally while you have this administration in charge.”’
• I agree. But at what point does this happen at any airport whether you’re traveling internationally or not?
• If they don’t like what you’re wearing, or you’re on a list because of your social posts… it won’t be long before the fascists want to weed you out.
• And here’s the thing about fascist teams like DHS’s ICE and CBP: they don’t give a shit about your rights. First Amendment, 4th, 14th, none of it matters to them. They are lawless and have no accountability.
• And due to Dumpy’s Big Bullshit Bill, ICE will be larger than most other countries’ entire militaries.
• ICE's budget is expected to increase dramatically, reaching around $30 billion annually, a threefold increase from its previous budget. Some reports even suggest a five-year allocation of $100-$150 billion.
• This funding, as we’ve mentioned, is intended to facilitate hiring more agents and expanding detention capacity. It’s eight times more than the FBI’s previous budget, effectively making ICE the single largest federal law enforcement agency in the history of the nation.
• That’s what Dumpy and the Republicans wanted, and that’s what you get.
• At least most people seem to be awake and aware of this clusterfuck. According to a new poll, 76% of all adults think there is a serious threat to the future of our democracy. This includes 89% of Democrats.
• And we’re fucking right. But we’re not going to just accept it. Fascism depends on people being weak. We are strong and there’s a lot of us.
• Let’s move on.
• It seems like Elmo is very serious about putting together a new political party, and I’m already praying that he indeed does.
• Musk, who probably thought Dumpy would actually let him run things after giving him all that money, is very mad.
• Yesterday, he confirmed the creation of a new party after doing a poll on his little social media thing. 
• “By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it! When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
• Hee hee hee hee. So, a few things.
• As I mentioned previously, the effect on a viable third party run by Musk on the platform that he represents would be a nightmare for the current Republican party. They would siphon away six GOP voters for every one Democratic voter, by my personal estimate.
• The only direct parallel I can make — even though Musk, who was not born in the USA, cannot be the candidate — was when billionaire Ross Perot ran for president as an independent in 1992, winning nearly a fifth of the popular vote.
• But Perot carried no states in the election, which was easily won by Bill Clinton.
• Most third parties don’t have the cash flow and recognition factor to be a serious contender. But Musk indeed can afford to put hundreds of millions of dollars into a campaign. He was, by far, the largest individual donor to Dump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
• No information has been officially filed for Musk’s planned new party. To legally form his so-called America Party, he’d have to register with the Federal Election Commission. The most recent FEC filings showed no indication that has happened.
• We’ll keep an eye on that in coming days.
• Let’s move on, or move back to another disastrous aspect of the Dump presidency: tariffs.
• Tomorrow we find out if President TACO is actually going to implement punishing tariffs on America’s largest trade partner: the European Union.
• Economists have warned this move would have horrible repercussions for companies and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.
• Dumpy imposed a 20% import tax on all EU-made products in early April as part of a set of tariffs targeting countries with which he claims the United States has a trade imbalance.
• And then he chickened out just hours after the nation-specific duties took effect. Instead, he put them on hold until July 9 at a standard rate of 10% to quiet financial markets and allow time for negotiations.
• But Europe as a whole doesn’t kiss his ass the exact way he prefers.
• So Dump then said he would increase the tariff rate for European exports to 50%, which could make everything — from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals — much more expensive in the U.S.
• And — in standard procedure in how these dumb-ass trade wars tend to go — the EU’s executive commission said that leaders can’t strike a deal with the Dump administration, they will retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and auto parts to beer and Boeing airplanes.
• How big is the financial integration between the USA and Europe? Well, it’s only “the most important commercial relationship in the world,” per experts.
• The value of EU-U.S. trade in goods and services amounted to  $2 trillion in 2024, or an average of over $5.4 billion every day.
• The biggest U.S. export to Europe is crude oil, followed by pharmaceuticals, aircraft, automobiles, and medical and diagnostic equipment.
• Europe’s biggest exports to the U.S. are pharmaceuticals, cars, aircraft, chemicals, medical instruments, and wine and spirits.
• So along with many other items, expect things to get far more expensive if Dumples the Economic Clown continues with his poorly thought-out plans.
• Moving on.
• I’m a fun guy. I like doing fun things. But every year on July 4, some tragic and very preventable shit happens, and I wish people weren’t so goddamn careless and selfish and stupid.
• This year’s local example: it was confirmed yesterday that an 8-year-old girl died after she was struck by an illegal fireworks display on the 4th in Buena Park, CA, a city in Orange County south of LA.
• Police officers were on patrol after seeing a large quantity of fireworks detonate in the area, and saw family members frantically carrying a child into a nearby home.
• They administered life-saving efforts before the child was transported to the University of California, Irvine hospital, where she was declared dead.
• The initial investigation revealed that a nearby homeowner set off a “large illegal fireworks display” on their street, which, after ignition, began misfiring toward the residence where the girl was at the time.
• So this little girl did nothing wrong, nor did her family. It was some asshole neighbor with no regard to the safety of the people around him who is responsible for this child’s death.
• The neighbor who ignited the illegal fireworks was subsequently arrested, and charges are pending review from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
• That’s obviously just one tragic example. I guarantee that there were hundreds of people with serious injuries — loss of fingers and eyes, severe burns, and more — as a a result of drunk idiots with no expertise in using explosives they shouldn’t have had in the first place.
• Let’s move on.
• Or rather, let’s take a quick step back to talk about the weather.
• Yesterday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said she plans to introduce a bill aimed at tackling “weather modification.”
• “I am introducing a bill that prohibits the injection, release, or dispersion of chemicals or substances into the atmosphere for the express purpose of altering weather, temperature, climate, or sunlight intensity. It will be a felony offense,” she wrote in a social media post.
• Allow me to unwrap this: Greene is referring to the old conspiracy theory trope of “chemtrails,” which do not exist.
• When a jet airplane files, it creates vapor trails of water condensation. It is not, as these methamphetamine-addicted freaks claim, some kind of chemical to control the weather or turn you gay.
• The actual ability to exert any control over weather are practices like cloud seeding, a safe method to encourage needed rainfall that’s been in place for over 80 years.
• Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) responded to Greene’s bill.
• “I’m introducing a bill that prohibits the injection, release or dispersion of stupidity into Congress,” he wrote last night, and I aim 100% behind his plan.
• And now, The Weather: “Bits” by No Joy
• Let’s do a chart.
• We’re heading back 34 years to early July 1991. I was 22 years old and knee-deep in getting my bachelor’s degree at CSUDH at the time. Also, to accommodate my changing class schedule, I was having to bop around to a variety of jobs.
• That month, I was being a telemarketer for a shady construction company. I also was hand-serving warrants and lawsuits as a side gig. Both jobs sucked and neither lasted long.
• Here was the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at the time…
• 1. Rush Rush (Paula Abdul). 2. Unbelievable (EMF). 3. I Wanna Sex You Up (From "New Jack City") (Color Me Badd). 4. Power Of Love/Love Power (Luther Vandross). 5. Right Here, Right Now (Jesus Jones). 6. More Than Words (Extreme). 7. Place In This World (Michael W. Smith). 8. Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless) (Crystal Waters). 9. Losing My Religion (R.E.M.). 10. Here I Am (Come And Take Me) (UB40). 11. How Can I Ease The Pain (Lisa Fischer). 12. Playground (Another Bad Creation). 13. Walking In Memphis (Marc Cohn). 14. Piece Of My Heart (Tara Kemp). 15. P.A.S.S.I.O.N. (Rhythm Syndicate). 16. Lily Was Here (David A. Stewart Introducing Candy Dulfer). 17. Never Gonna Let You Down (Surface). 18. A Better Love (Londonbeat). 19. The Dream Is Still Alive (Wilson Phillips). 20. Summertime (D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince).
• From the Sports Desk… there are still a few Americans left after three rounds of Wimbledon play.
• In Men’s Singles, 5-seed Taylor Fritz just faced Aussie Jordan Thompson, winning 6-1, 3-0. Tomorrow, 10-seed Ben Shelton will go up against Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the Round of 16.
• In Women’s Singles, Emma Navarro will meet Russian Mirra Andreeva, and 13-seed Amanda Anisimova will battle Czech Linda Nosková.
• And yes, in these barren months that precede the start of NFL pre-season, I will even cover the sport of riding a little bicycle around France.
• Here’s the top of the starting standings for the overall (yellow jersey) race…
• 1. Jasper Philipsen (BEL). 2. Biniam Girmay (ERI). 3. Soren Waerenskjold (NOR). 4. Anthony Turgis (FRA). 5. Matteo Trentin (ITA). 6. Clement Russo (FRA). 7. Paul Penhoet (FRA). 8. Matteo Jorgenson (USA). 9. Marius Mayrhofer (GER). 10. Samuel Watson (GBR).
• Today in history… Mindaugas is crowned king of Lithuania (1253). Richard III and Anne Neville are crowned King and Queen of England (1483). In Jackson, MI, the first convention of the United States Republican Party is held (1854). Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog (1885). Three thousand eight hundred striking steelworkers engage in a day-long battle with Pinkerton agents during the Homestead Strike, leaving ten dead and dozens wounded (1892). The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played in Chicago's Comiskey Park, with the American League defeating the National League 4–2 (1933). Jackie Robinson refuses to move to the back of a bus, leading to a court-martial (1944). The AK-47 goes into production in the Soviet Union (1947). John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time, as teenagers at Woolton Fete, three years before forming the Beatles (1957). The Georgia Guidestones, a monument in the United States, are heavily damaged in a bombing, and are dismantled later the same day (2022).
• July 6 is the birthday of naval captain John Paul Jones (1747), Mexico emperor Maximilian I (1832), businessman Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (1884), painter Frida Kahlo (1907), wrestling promoter Vince McMahon Sr. (1914), actor Sebastian Cabot (1918), US first lady Nancy Reagan (1921), TV host/producer Merv Griffin (1925), singer-songwriter Bill Haley (1925), actress Janet Leigh (1927), actress/singer Della Reese (1931), actor Ned Beatty (1937), actor Burt Ward (1945), US president George W. Bush (1946), actor Sylvester Stallone (1946), actor Geoffrey Rush (1951), singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith (1953), rapper 50 Cent (1975), comedian Kevin Hart (1979), NBA player Pau Gasol (1980), MLB player Manny Machado (1992), and NBA player Zion Williamson (2000).

Alright… time to wrap this up and make myself presentable. For those of you while are chilling this afternoon, I’ll be live right here on your computer or phone at 1pm PT/4pm ET, playing music and perhaps chatting about life. You are all welcome. Even MAGAs and Nazis. I’ll play music for literally anyone. Hopefully we’ll see each other then. Well, you’ll see me; I can’t see you. That would be weird. Enjoy your day.