Random News: September 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 September 14, 2025, and it’s a Sunday. I opened up a fresh bag of Peet’s Big Bang and it is outstanding. Side note: you’d think as often as I mention my preferred coffee brand, Peet’s would be willing to sponsor this news column. If they ever offered to, I’d take them up in a heartbeat. Being a writing whore for coffee would be my dream come true.

• Let’s chat about something.
• One of the main tenets of critical thinking is to try and be aware what you’re not being shown, and why.
• The past few days, we’ve spent an inordinate amount of time in this news column focused on the murder of Charlie Kirk and the arrest of his assassin Tyler Robinson.
• And indeed, as I try and gather my news items for today — four days afterwards — over half of the national headlines I see via Google News still are in relation to that topic.
• It’s also still the top story via Associated Press, Reuters, Washington Post, CNN, The Hill, and more.
• But while that’s been commandeering every headline and comment of news coverage, the world keeps turning. For example…
• Yesterday, Polish and allied aircraft were deployed in a preventive operation in Poland’s airspace because of a threat of drone strikes in neighboring areas of Ukraine, and the airport in the country’s eastern city of Lublin was closed.
• Polish ground-based air defense and reconnaissance systems — along with most of NATO — remains on high alert after Wednesday’s Russian drone incursion.
• Separately, Romania said it deployed two F-16 jets to intercept a drone that briefly entered its airspace yesterday afternoon.
• While you’re all focused on one thing — a topic that in the long term will be inconsequential to most of your lives — Putin is taking baby steps to take over Europe. 
• What else have you not been thinking about? Could it be the Epstein files that both Charlie Kirk and I wanted to be revealed to the public?
• This week, two decades’ worth of emails that belonged to Epstein were acquired by Bloomberg News. They were from Epstein’s personal Yahoo account from 2002 through 2022, three years after he died in jail.
• Reports say while there aren’t any big smoking guns in the email trove, there are some references to Dumpy.
• In one in which Epstein tells Ghislaine Maxwell to remove Dump’s name from a list of more than 50 politicians and business leaders, but the list’s purpose is unknown.
• Another email, from Maxwell to Epstein in 2007, includes Dump among the people whom an unknown “they” might approach for some reason.
• Shrug.
• What did the White House say? Exactly what you’d expect. “This is just more stupid, fake news playing into the hands of the Democrat Hoax trying to link President Trump and Epstein.”
• But there was another Epstein-related announcement on Friday that almost none of you noticed.
• The House committee looking into the investigation of Epstein will be receiving financial documents from the Treasury Department.
• Rep. James Comer (R-KY), chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the Treasury Department has pledged to cooperate with the probe and release documents expected to include suspicious activity reports related to Epstein and his former girlfriend and co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.
• House Republicans have used Comer’s investigation to push back against the effort led by GOP Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to force the government to release all the Epstein investigation documents.
• Here’s a thought: why not release everything? It’s what Charlie would have wanted, amirite?
• The Treasury Department did not say when it would turn over the documents, which were requested by Comer in August, nor how many records would be released.
• Guess we’ll see. Or not see, as they case may be.
• Let’s move on.
• A story that we haven’t even mentioned once in the midst of the other stuff…
• Nepal, the small nation in the Himalayas, went through days of violent protests last week, leaving at least 72 people dead and destroying government buildings and politicians’ homes.
• Today, Sushila Karki — the country’s first woman prime minister — took office and urged calm and cooperation to rebuild the nation.
• She told top officials gathered at her temporary office that each family of slain protesters will receive monetary compensation of 1 million rupees (about $11,330) and assured that those injured would be taken care of.
• Karki, 73, was named the new prime minister on Friday. She was a popular figure while serving as the court’s only female chief justice in 2016 and 2017, and was known for her stance against corruption in the government.
• The massive demonstrations — called the protest of Gen Z — began on September 8. What triggered it?
• A short-lived social media ban. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets, particularly young people, angry about widespread corruption and poverty, while the children of political leaders, known as “nepo kids,” seemed to enjoy luxurious lifestyles.
• The protests soon turned violent, with protesters attacking the parliament building and police opening fire, and led to the resignation of Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli, who fled his official residence.
• It’s something to think about. Here in the USA, our entire populace is addicted to various forms of social media, but in no demographic is that more the case than Gen Z.
• Can you imagine what they’d do if access to TikTok, YouTube, X, Instagram, and the like was suddenly cut off?
• Let’s move on with another tidbit from the International Desk…
• Do you know why we closely guard our civil rights in the USA? Because we don’t want to end up like North Korea.
• That country’s leaders have ordered the executions of their citizens for watching foreign films and television shows.
• A U.N. report released on Friday says the North Korean government has increased its control of "all aspects of citizens' lives" and subjects its citizens to forced labor.
• A woman who had escaped North Korea in 2023, Kang Gyuri, said three of her friends were executed after they were caught with video content that was produced in South Korea.
• What dictators want — Kim Jong Un to Donnie Dump — is to control every aspect of the lives of their populace.
• If you don’t think this kind of thing could ever happen in the USA, the land of freedom, you’re dead fucking wrong.
• Look at how many people lost their jobs over the past couple of days because they weren’t sad about Charlie Kirk’s murder.
• Major corporations like Microsoft, Delta Air Lines, Office Depot, Nasdaq, MSNBC, and many others have taken action against employees who made social media posts on their personal accounts that were critical of Kirk's views.
• And look: those companies do have the right. If employees are expected to represent their companies 24 hours per day in every aspect of their lives, I suppose it’s fine to control how they express themselves.
• But why not extend this to all topics, rather than just that of Kirk’s murder?
• How about Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade, who — in a discussion on the many issues regarding homelessness this week — said that the solution was “Involuntary lethal injection, or something. Just kill them."
• He’s just some asshole on the news, right? It’s not like some government official is saying this.
• Except Dumpy has hired a large portion of his cabinet who were former Fox anchors, and tends to follow policies that people like Kilmeade suggest.
• It’s a slippery slope, the road to total authoritarianism. But everything we told you that would happen with fascist leadership — from the Supreme Court rescinding the right to reproductive rights to Dump using the military to persecute civilians — has come true.
• There may come a day where this very news column — which I do for free and merely repeats information coming from highly trusted sources — is censored and blocked, and I am subject to arrest and punishment.
• But until then, I’ll be here fighting to make sure you know the things you need to know to stay alive and lead lives the way you prefer.
• Let’s keep moving on.
• I do want to spend a moment talking about political violence in general.
• And no, Kirk wasn’t a politician per se, nor any kind of elected official. But anyone who cultivates a large audience and has a high level of influence that impacts how people vote is part of the political machine.
• I’d say the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. was also political — not that I’m comparing them in any way other than that King was also not an elected official.
• Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s home was burned in an arson attack in April. Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were gunned down by a man dressed as a police officer in June.
• But that’s just a drop in the bucket. In the first six months of 2025, more than 520 plots and acts of terrorism and targeted violence occurred, affecting nearly all US states and causing 96 deaths and 329 injuries.
• If that seems like a lot, you’re right. It’s nearly a 40% increase over the first six months of 2024.
• Mass casualty attacks, where four or more victims were killed or wounded, increased by 187.5% in the first six months of 2025 compared with the same period last year.
• And now, we’re at a point where political violence could flare up in ways that were unimaginable not long ago.
• Why? Because of the way that the far-right is positioning Kirk’s murder and swearing revenge on “the left” (despite the fact that Kirk’s murderer was even further right than Kirk himself).
• And here’s the thing: if there was direct evidence that Taylor Robinson — who was allegedly online constantly — was involved in radical leftist ideology, there would be reams of evidence immediately available.
• Robinson’s chat logs on Discord, his social posts, his Reddit comments. All of it would point in a specific direction of political ideology. And again, sure, it’s an investigation in progress. Perhaps those things will come to light.
• However, all signs so far show that Robinson’s extremism was fueled by the super-right “Groyper” community led by figures such as white supremacist Nick Fuentes.
• We already know that the Groypers were opposed to Kirk, who was often targeted by Groypers. They believe Kirk’s political beliefs were too moderate.
• That’s why Fuentes and his followers have since been banned from attending Kirk’s Turning Point USA events and the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.
• Fuentes had to hold a competing conference — the America First Political Action Conference, featuring Republican speakers including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), former Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, and Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers, among others.
• There’s nothing leftist about this group, obviously.
• But since Dump and his gang have already decided to put “the left” in the target sights, there are already prominent politicians canceling events over safety concerns, and historically Black colleges on lockdown over threats.
• On Friday, Dump was asked on Fox News how to fix the country, given there were radicals on the right as well.
• His response tells you all you need to know. “I’ll tell you something that’s gonna get me in trouble but I couldn’t care less. The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don’t want to see crime. The radicals on the left are the problem. And they’re vicious and they’re horrible and they’re politically savvy.”
• So he’s fanning those flames very purposefully. And nothing good will come of it. My advice to all of you, take it or leave it: never hide in fear from the threat of terrorism. Don’t silence yourself out of concern of retribution.
• And at the same time, be very aware that even your innocuous statements and shared content can put you on some right-wing maniac’s hit list. Those people are very emotional and many of them have problems with impulse control. They act before they think.
• I’ve been clear on my genuine opinion in every post where I mention this: my views are in direct opposition to Kirk’s (and certainly Fuentes’s, for that matter) on nearly a 100% basis, but I also condemn all forms of violence, and want his killer to face justice regardless of his political outlook.
• And now, The Weather: “Shadow Answers the Wall” by Lutalo
• From the Sports Desk… it’s the second Sunday of the new NFL season. There will definitely be some games that help determine whether Week 1’s wins and losses were flukes versus genuine indications of how good/bad a team is.
• A couple games of note today with tight point spreads: Seahawks at Steelers (-3), and Eagles (-1) at Chiefs.
• Today in history… Domitian becomes Emperor of the Roman Empire (81). George Frideric Handel completes his oratorio ‘Messiah’ (1741). The Papal States lose Avignon to Revolutionary France (1791). President William McKinley dies after being mortally wounded on September 6 by anarchist Leon Czolgosz and is succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt (1901). The Hungarian Army kills 158 Romanian civilians in the Ip Massacre, an act of ethnic cleansing (1940). Maastricht becomes the first Dutch city to be liberated by allied forces in WWII (1944). The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, aka OPEC, is founded (1960). Joe Kittinger becomes the first person to fly a gas balloon alone across the Atlantic Ocean (1984). The Major League Baseball season is canceled because of a strike (1994). Microsoft releases Windows Me (2000). Northern Rock bank experiences the first bank run in the United Kingdom in 150 years (2007). The first observation of gravitational waves is made, announced the following February by the LIGO and Virgo collaborations (2015). 
• September 14 is the birthday of theologian/astrologer/occultist/alchemist Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1486), nurse/activist Margaret Sanger (1879), actor Walter Koenig (1936), NBA coach Larry Brown (1940), actor Sam Neill (1947), songwriter/guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith (1949), songwriter/guitarist Paul Kosoff (1950), politician Dmitry Medvedev (1965), US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson (1970), rapper Nas (1973), politician Ron DeSantis (1978), singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse (1983), NFL player Michael Crabtree (1987),  and NBA player Jimmy Butler (1989).

Off to do other Sunday things. Enjoy your day.