Random News: August 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.

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Good morning. It’s August 6, 2025, and it’s a Wednesday. I will now proceed to put things in your brain remotely. Kinda weird, but true.

• We recently mentioned that Dump — who gets angry when he’s told truthful information — fired the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics when she provided the real numbers in the jobs report.
• But that kind of overshadowed the actual information imparted. And economists are now growing more concerned about America’s job market.
• Hiring over the past three months slowed dramatically. As new data came in about May and June’s employment, the BLS was forced to sharply lower those months’ job totals from their preliminary estimates.
• The BLS revised May and June’s jobs totals lower by a combined 258,000 jobs. Every time changes that large have taken place over the course of at least two months, the US economy has been in a recession — at least since records began in 1968.
• Donnie Dump’s economy has added just 85,000 jobs per month this year, which is well below the 177,000 jobs that the economy added on average each month before the pandemic.
• Ironically, the leading culprit for slowing jobs growth may be Dump’s tariffs. Huh. Imagine that.
• Let’s move on with a couple of stories form the Health Desk…
• Yesterday, RFK Jr. announced that the Department of Health and Human Services will cancel contracts and pull funding for vaccines that are being developed to fight respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu.
• He says that 22 projects, totaling $500 million, to develop vaccines using mRNA technology will be halted.
• The health secretary — a man with a former heroin addiction and a brain parasite — criticized mRNA vaccines, which are the ones from the nation’s leading pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and Moderna, that saved us from COVID-19 and protects against H5N1 and other flu viruses.
• Infectious disease experts say the mRNA technology used in vaccines is safe. They warn that future pandemics will be harder to stop without the help of mRNA.
• Mike Osterholm, a University of Minnesota expert on infectious diseases and pandemic preparations, stated, “I don’t think I’ve seen a more dangerous decision in public health in my 50 years in the business.”
• In more health news…
• The Florida Department of Health is warning about the risks of drinking raw, unpasteurized milk after 21 people, including six children under the age of 10, were sickened by E. coli and campylobacter bacteria linked to raw milk from the same farm.
• Officials did not identify the farm, but indicated its products were available in Northeast and Central Florida. Seven people have been hospitalized, and two have developed severe complications.
• RFK Jr. has been a vocal supporter and consumer of raw milk. Even so, it is illegal to sell raw milk for human consumption in Florida… but it can be sold in the state if it's labeled as a pet food. 
• Gross.
• And RFK Jr.’s own Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conform that raw milk can carry life-threatening bacteria, such as E. coli, campylobacter, listeria, or salmonella. 
• If you value your life and that of your family and other loved ones, never take any kind of health care advice from that man.
• Let’s move on.
• It’s looking like Republican legislators are feeling some actual accountability for their actions in licking the boots of Donnie Dump.
• Monday night in Nebraska, Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE) faced about 750 voters during a contentious town hall. He was there to explain his vote for Dump’s signature achievement… his Big Bullshit Bill that gave huge tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans while slashing health care and food programs for the poor.
• And Nebraskans weren’t having any of it. From the very start, Flood was met with an angry crowd that asked substantive questions but rarely seemed satisfied with his answers. he was jeered and booed for 90 straight minutes.
• You’ll note that almost no Republican lawmakers are facing their constituents these days for this exact reason. People across the nation are fucking pissed off.
• Not just liberals or conservatives. American citizens across many political ideologies are incensed at the actions of Dump and his GOP government.
• Let’s do a note from the Immigration Desk…
• Today, a federal judge is set to hold an evidentiary hearing over whether to block operations at Florida’s infamous “Alligator Alcatraz” because construction of the site bypassed federally required environmental impact studies.
• And look… if this shithole of a concentration camp is able to be shut down over concerns about the Everglades' bats, panthers, and storks — as opposed to the cruel treatment of humans — then so be it.
• Detainees there have endured inhumane conditions, including flooded facilities, spoiled food, and sweltering heat — and they have limited access to their attorneys and are effectively housed in a jurisdictional black hole.
• So while today’s hearing is limited to environmental issues, the testimony is also expected to shine a light on the operations of the facility, and could result in a federal judge ordering it to be shut down until the required environmental impact studies are conducted.
• I’d gladly accept that.
• In more immigration news…
• Yesterday, Dump’s Justice Department identified some three dozen states, cities, and counties as so-called sanctuary jurisdictions, two months after they quietly removed a much longer list that included many localities that support the Dump administration’s hard-line immigration policies.
• The earlier, typo-riddled list was met with pushback from across the political spectrum, with officials often saying it wasn’t clear why their jurisdictions were included.
• Shocking no one, the new list is composed completely of Democratic jurisdictions, including states like New York, California, and Connecticut, cities like Boston and New York City, and a handful of counties, including Baltimore County, MD, and Cook County, IL.
• Anyone with half a brain can see that this is just a political ploy to persecute people in places that support and vote for liberal candidates and causes.
• Let’s move on.
• Something fascinating is starting to happen in states that are holding primaries and special elections: not only are voters moving away from right-wing candidates, but in many places, progressive politicians are crushing their moderate liberal opponents.
• In Rhode Island’s SD-4 district, the special election results are amazing. Democrat Stefano Famiglietti won with 83.6% of the vote, compared to his Republican opponent Alexander Asermely’s 16.4%.
• What’s the big deal? Well. this is a 56-point over-performance compared to the 2024 elections, when Kamala Harris won the district by just 11 points.
• And last night in Washington State, early results indicate that a slate of progressive newcomers will face off against moderate incumbents in several key Seattle races this November.
• Progressives were hoping that Dump’s federal moves would swing local voters in the opposite direction — and so far that appears to be happening.
• And I probably don’t have to mention that the next mayor of New York City — the country’s largest metropolitan area — will almost certainly have a Democratic Socialist as their next mayor.
• The times, they are a-changin’.
• And now, The Weather: “End Credits” by Pearly Drops
• An RIP going out to Terry Reid, the English rock vocalist with the nickname “Superlungs" who passed away this week at 75.
• Most of you don’t know him, but the dude was highly respected as both a singer and songwriter. His tunes have been covered by a diverse group of brands and artists including Crosby, Stills & Nash; Jackson Browne; Cheap Trick; Jack White; Chris Cornell and many others.
• But perhaps his biggest claim to fame were the gigs he didn’t take. He turned down offers by Jimmy Page to be the lead vocalist of Led Zeppelin, and Ritchie Blackmore to be the singer of Deep Purple.
• Let’s do a chart.
• We’re heading back to August 1989. I’m going to college and working at a Sunglass Hut in a mall. At that Sunglasses Hut, I meet a fellow employee who I date, move in with, marry, have a child with, and divorce between then and 2003.
• I mean, I’m glad to have the child, who is now a 26-year-old man.
• Pop music at this time was pretty shitty, but I think it’s extremely rare that pop music isn’t shitty. Here’s the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at the time.
• 1. Right Here Waiting (Richard Marx). 2. On Our Own (From "Ghostbusters II") (Bobby Brown). 3. Batdance (From "Batman") (Prince). 4. So Alive (Love And Rockets). 5. Once Bitten Twice Shy (Great White). 6. Cold Hearted (Paula Abdul). 7. I Like It (Dino). 8. Lay Your Hands On Me (Bon Jovi). 9. Don't Wanna Lose You (Gloria Estefan). 10. Toy Soldiers (Martika). 11. Hangin' Tough (New Kids on the Block). 12. Secret Rendezvous (Karyn White). 13. Friends (Jody Watley With Eric B. & Rakim). 14. The End Of The Innocence (Don Henley). 15. I'm That Type Of Guy (LL Cool J). 16. If You Don't Know Me By Now (Simply Red). 17. No More Rhyme (Debbie Gibson). 18. Angel Eyes (The Jeff Healey Band). 19. Hey Baby (Henry Lee Summer). 20. Sacred Emotion (Donny Osmond).
• From the Sports Desk… here’s a problem I never even knew was a thing.
• The NFL informed teams yesterday morning via a memo that it has prohibited the use of ammonia and smelling salts before and during all NFL games. The ban applies to the entirety of a game, including pregame activities and halftime, and applies in the locker room and on the sideline.
• The league’s reasoning seems good. They stated, "The FDA noted potential negative effects from ammonia inhalants (AI) use. AIs also have the potential to mask certain neurological signs and symptoms, including some potential signs of concussion.”
• I had no idea that NFL players used these. Star 49ers tight end and nine-year veteran George Kittle was upset.
• “Our team got a memo today that smelling salts and ammonia packets were made illegal in the NFL, and I've been distraught all day,” he told NFL Network, then went on to say that he is a regular user of smelling salts, taking them for a boost of energy before every offensive drive, noting, "I miss those already."
• I mean… that can’t be healthy.
• Today in history… Bogotá, Colombia is founded (1538). 60 proof sheets of the US Constitution are delivered to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia (1787). William Kemmler is the first person executed by electric chair (1890). Gertrude Ederle swims the English Channel (1926). The Soviet Union absorbs Estonia (1940). The USA drops the atomic bomb “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, Japan (1945). Jamaica gains independence from the UK (1962). Tim Berners-Lee releases his idea for the World Wide Web (1991). The Ramones play their final concert (1996). NASA’s Curiosity rover lands on Mars (2012). 
• August 6 is the birthday of poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809), biologist Alexander Fleming (1881), journalist Louella Parsons (1881), gangster Dutch Schultz (1901), actress/producer Lucille Ball (1911), actor Robert Mitchum (1917), painter/photographer Andy Warhol (1928), actor/director Peter Bonerz (1938), guitarist/composer Allen Holdsworth (1946), actress Michelle Yeoh (1962), NBA player David Robinson (1965), singer-songwriter Elliott Smith (1969), director M. Night Shyamalan (1970), singer-songwriter Geri Halliwell (1972), actress Soleil Moon Frye (1976), and actor Leslie Odom Jr. (1981).

That’s not all the news, but it’s all I have time for now. Enjoy your day.