Random News: August 20, 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 August 20, 2025, and it’s a Wednesday. We have just tons of news today, to the point where I already know I won’t have time to get it all in. But we’ll try to do as much as we can in the time that we have — a good definition of life.

• Texas Rep. Nicole Collier — the Black female Democratic state lawmaker who was forced by white Republicans to spend the past two nights inside the Texas Capitol — is asking a court to let her exit the building.
• She alleges that she's facing "illegal restraint by the government" after she was told she needs a police escort to leave.
• As you’re aware, the Fort Worth lawmaker and dozens of other Democrats left Texas earlier this month to delay a vote on a GOP-led plan to redraw the state's congressional map.
• After they returned, they were forced to have state police escorts to ensure they will show up when the state House convenes today, but Collier refused to sign a "permission slip" to be under escort by the Texas Department of Public Safety. As a result, Collier was not allowed to leave the building, and was forced to sleep on the House floor both nights.
• Collier’s court petition says state Rep. Charlie Geren, a Republican who chairs the House Administration Committee, told her: "If you leave the Capitol you are subject to arrest."
• In what world is this legal, much less moral? Collier is a seven-term lawmaker and former chair of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus. She’s asking a judge to order the House Sergeant-at-Arms to "immediately release" her, and to bar the Sergeant-at-Arms from "restraining Representative Collier in any respect."
• Moving on.
• Let’s take a closer look at the recent bashing of museums by Dumples the History-Hating Clown.
• Yesterday, in a long ranting social post, Dumpy accused the Smithsonian of presenting a narrative of "how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been.”
• Here’s something I — along with every American with a brain and a conscience — needs to tell Dumpy…
• SLAVERY WAS BAD.
• Why, in this day and age, am I forced to remind people that slavery was, is, and always will be, bad?
• Dump says that his forces plan to conduct an audit of eight Smithsonian museums "to ensure alignment with the President's directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions."
• The Bloated Orange Buffoon added, “This Country cannot be WOKE, because WOKE IS BROKE. We have the "HOTTEST" Country in the World, and we want people to talk about it, including in our Museums."
• So you can see where this is going. Dump wants to whitewash our history — books, online records, museums, educational programs, and more.
• Let’s move on with a couple of stories about how America is standing up to Dump and fighting back.
• Last week, the US Department of Justice sent letters to 13 states, from California to Rhode Island, and 22 local governments, from Boston to Seattle, that it has deemed “sanctuary jurisdictions”, threatening their leaders with prosecution for allegedly “undermining” and “obstructing” federal immigration enforcement.
• The governor of the state of Washington, Bob Ferguson, is standing his ground against Dump’s racist and cruel immigration programs.
• He said, “Pam Bondi seeks to have Washington state bend the knee to a Trump administration that, day by day, drags us closer to authoritarianism. That’s not going to happen.”
• AG Bondi warned the states and cities that any official who hampers such efforts may be hit with criminal charges. Bondi gave them a Tuesday deadline to reply. And reply they did.
• At a news conference yesterday, Ferguson said, “I am not intimidated by Pam Bondi, or the president.”
• He continued, “In the America that I love, that I taught my children to revere, we resolve our differences peacefully through public discourse — and if necessary, through the courts — not by threatening political opponents with imprisonment.”
• Ferguson and Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown have consistently defended the Keep Washington Working Act, which prevents local and state law enforcement from assisting federal immigration efforts. Brown’s office has contended that the act doesn’t thwart federal authorities’ ability to enforce immigration laws.
• The Washington governor’s entire written reply to Bondi is a master class in dealing with fascists.
• “Your threat to criminally prosecute state officials embarrasses and disgraces the office of the United States Attorney General,” Ferguson wrote. He further argued that if Bondi really believed that the state was in conflict with federal law, she would “make some effort to explain that.” “You did not, because you cannot.”
• Staying on the same topic but moving 3,000 miles to the east, Boston’s mayor Michelle Wu also hit back sharply at the Dump administration’s legal threats over sanctuary city immigration policies, declaring that “Boston will not back down”.
• Wu told a news conference yesterday: “The US attorney general asked for a response by today, so here it is: stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures. Unlike the Trump administration, Boston follows the law. And Boston will not back down from who we are and what we stand for.”
• Wu threw in a nice zinger: “Under the Trump administration, groceries are less affordable, housing is harder to build, cures for cancer are farther away, and good news on our economy has been as hard to find as the Epstein list.”
• Hee hee. Wu’s response letter stated in no uncertain terms that Boston would not “bow down to unconstitutional threats or unlawful coercion” from the federal government.
• Let’s move on.
• Here’s a quiz question: does the president have power to change voting laws, as Dumpy is threatening to do by eliminating mail-in voting and voting machines?
• And here’s your answer: no.
• The U.S. Constitution says "times, places and manner of holding elections ... shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof”. It says Congress has a role to "make or alter such regulations", but it does not specify a role for the President.
• Like many things Dumpy thinks he can do but can’t, Dump cannot tell states how to carry out 2026 voting. And as often been the case for The Dumpster, when he’s trying to make a point, he simply lies.
• He said, “And do you know that we’re the only country in the world — I believe, I may be wrong — but just about the only country in the world that uses mail-in voting because of what’s happened, massive fraud all over the place.”
• Reality: dozens of countries allow mail-in voting. The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance found that of the 34 countries or territories, 12 allow all voters to vote by mail and in 22 permit only some voters to vote this way.
• Examples: Australia introduced postal voting more than a century ago. All Canadians are eligible to use mail-in voting. In the United Kingdom, on-demand postal voting in Britain was part of a wider modernization in electoral administration in the early 2000s.
• And ocne again, I have to ask all MAGAs: is Dump a liar or an idiot? Because it has to be one or the other. I mean, it could be — and probably is — both.
• In other news…
• Walmart is recalling frozen shrimp after the FDA warned that the seafood items, sold under the Great Value label, are at risk of radioactive contamination and shouldn't be consumed.
• Jesus.
• The frozen shrimp were imported from Indonesian company PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati and sold at Walmart stores as Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp, the FDA said yesterday. The agency noted it has recommended that Walmart recall the product. 
• If you bought Walmart shrimp — something I wouldn’t advise in the best of circumstances — you should throw it out immediately. Customers can contact the store where they purchased the product for a full refund.
• The shrimp could be contaminated with a radioactive isotope called Cesium-137. What the actual fuck?
• Moving on.
• Hurricane Erin will pass well offshore the Mid-Atlantic but close enough to generate strong winds and dangerous seas and surf for Virginia, Maryland and Delaware beaches, particularly today and Thursday.
• And to that end, beaches from Florida to New York are closed at the moment, as they should be.
• Erin — combined with a zone of high pressure north of the storm — will funnel wind and water into the coast, generating multiple hazards that include life-threatening rip currents, waves over eight feet, periods of tidal flooding, and beach erosion. High winds with gusts exceeding 35 mph are also possible. 
• Stay safe, peoples.
• Let’s move on.
• Homeland Security Secretary and puppy killer Kristi Noem sees a big wall and she wants to paint it black.
• She said yesterday that the entire border wall along the southern border with Mexico is going to be painted black to make it hotter and deter illegal immigration. She said the brilliant idea came from Dump himself.
• “That is specifically at the request of the president, who understands that in the hot temperatures down here when something is painted black it gets even warmer and it will make it even harder for people to climb. So we are going to be painting the entire southern border wall black to make sure that we encourage individuals to not come into our country illegally,” Noem said.
• Can you imagine signing up to “protect homeland security” only to find yourself in the late summer in New Mexico painting 3,000 miles of walls black? 
• Moving on.
• A little local news for us in Southern California.
• If you’re sitting at a complete standstill on the 405 in the Sepulveda Pass, looking at miles of red brake lights ahead of you and going insane, take solace: you could be on the 10.
• The LA Times put together a ratings system for the driving experience on each SoCal freeway using data from Caltrans. Categories included average speed of travel, delays, and fatal crashes.
• And the worst freeway in the LA area? Its the 10, and the competition wasn’t even close. The freeway scored an astounding -1,300 on a scale intended to range from -500 to 500, with 0 being about average.
• The next closest score was the 605 Freeway, a notoriously jammed north/south road that scored -600. I can attest to this; I spent over three years driving the 605 daily on my way to work and back. It’s a major trucking route and it can absolutely suck.
• The much-maligned 405 — while still entirely shitty — was in third place at -500.
• And now, The Weather: “Hide-A-Lullaby (feat. Tanukichan)” by Winter
• Let’s do a chart.
• It’s August 1980, and I’m in the dog days of summer between sixth and seventh grade. What am I doing? Well, I’m trying to get two different girls to be my girlfriend: Julie Stanton and Robin Zuckerman. And they’re best friends. Dude. No.
• I hadn’t quite figured life out just yet, as you can see. I’m 12 years old. I’m also playing guitar a lot — taking lessons and learning songs.
• Oh wait… I have an actual diary entry from this very day.
• 8/20/80: Hi! Camp next Saturday. My counselor called me and there will be a dance! And a pajamathon! This camp is gonna be EXCELLENT!!!!!!! P.S. Went to beach today.
• Some songs I might have heard on the radio that day at the beach, from the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart at the time…
• 1. Magic (Olivia Newton-John). 2. Sailing (Christopher Cross). 3. Take Your Time (Do It Right) Part 1 (The S.O.S. Band). 4. Emotional Rescue (The Rolling Stones). 5. Upside Down (Diana Ross). 6. It's Still Rock And Roll To Me (Billy Joel). 7. Fame (Irene Cara). 8. All Out Of Love (Air Supply). 9. Let My Love Open The Door (Pete Townshend). 10. More Love (Kim Carnes). 11. Give Me The Night (George Benson). 12. Shining Star (The Manhattans). 13. Late In The Evening (Paul Simon). 14. Misunderstanding (Genesis). 15. Take A Little Rhythm (Ali Thomson). 16. Into The Night (Benny Mardones). 17. JoJo (Boz Scaggs). 18. Why Not Me (Fred Knoblock). 19. Lookin' For Love (Johnny Lee). 20. You're The Only Woman (You & I) (Ambrosia).
• From the Sports Desk… it’s time to once again take a look at MLB standings, but this time we’re going to only include teams that — according ESPN’s computations — currently have more than a 90% chance of making the playoffs.
• American League: Tigers (99.7%), Blue Jays (99.5%), Yankees (93.5%).
• National League: Brewers (>99.9%), Dodgers (99.6%), Phillies (99.5%), Cubs (97.5%), Padres (95.3%).
• Side note: the Athletics, White Sox, Pirates, Nationals, and Rockies each have <0.1% chance of playing in the postseason.
• So you’re saying there’s a chance? No. No I am not.
• Today in history… Charles Darwin first publishes his theory of evolution through natural selection (1854). Andrew Johnson declares the Civil War officially over (1866). Tchaikovsky debuts his ‘1812 Overture’ in Moscow (1882). The first commercial radio station, now called WWJ, begins operations in Detroit (1920). The American Professional Football Conference, now called the National Football League, is organized in Canton, OH (1920). Lou Gehrig hits his 23rd grand slam, a record that stood for 75 years (1938). NASA launches the Viking 1 probe toward Mars (1975). Nasa launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft (1977). More than 100,000 people rally at the Soviet parliament building protesting the coup to depose Gorbachev (1991). Joe Biden gives his acceptance speech as the Democratic presidential nominee (2020). 
• August 20 is the birthday of US president Benjamin Harrison (1833), France president Raymond Poincaré (1860), writer H. P. Lovecraft (1890), singer-songwriter/trombonist Jack Teagarden (1905), screenwriter/producer Walter Bernstein (1919), songwriter/pedal steel guitarist Sneaky Pete Kleinow (1934), singer-songwriter Isaac Hayes (1942), journalist Connie Chung (1946), singer-songwriter Robert Plant (1948), singer-songwriter/bass player Phil Lynott (1949), singer-songwriter John Hiatt (1952), news anchor Al Roker (1954), writer/director David O. Russell (1958), rapper KRS-One (1965), guitarist/songwriter Dimebag Darrell Abbott (1966), singer Fred Durst (1970), MLB player Todd Helton (1973), actress Amy Adams (1974), singer-songwriter Demi Lovato (1992), and NFL player Mitchell Trubisky (1994).

Well, that’s some news. But it’s not all the news. There’s a lot going on. I’m going to leave you with this thought: the things you do today echo into the future… but so do the things you don’t do today. There may come a time not far down he road that you wish you’d paid more attention to what’s going on and did something before it was too late. Just something to consider. Enjoy your day.