Random News: September 15, 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 15, 2025, and it’s a Monday. As the song goes, I don’t like Mondays. I have a sense of loss for the weekend now-passed. I’ll never get that weekend again. Sure, there will be other weekends. But I’m as far away from the carefree enjoyment of a weekend right now as I ever will be. I suppose I should stop complaining and look at the news. That should put my own problems in perspective, in any case.

• I think it’s time that we all start to focus on the really big picture of preserving our democracy and stopping the rise of fascism right now. If we wait much longer, we won’t have a choice in the matter.
• But as today, we still do have choices. And there’s something happening soon that I want you to plan for right now.
• No matter where you are in the USA (or elsewhere for that matter), I highly recommend that you join us tomorrow night (Tuesday, September 16) for an online event at FAFO50.com. Link is in the comments.
• Yes. That’s for “Fuck Around Find Out 50”. It’s a livestream event to help rally thousands of Americans behind Governor Gavin Newsom's plan to counter Texas redistricting maps. On a bigger picture, it’s to help people do their part in stopping Dump from rigging the entire 2026 Midterm election.
• There will obviously be a focus on my state’s upcoming Proposition 50, the Election Rigging Response Act. But the information may be very useful to you regardless of where you live, and will help dictate a plan for the resistance moving forward.
• They’re going to be providing concrete information, with steps you can take immediately to protect our democracy and ensure every vote counts.
• There’s a huge list of speakers for the live event, far too many to list here. It’s packed with people from the political, entertainment, and social media world.
• Here’s a short list of some I’m looking forward to seeing…
• Rep. Pete Aguilar, Pete Buttigieg, Jo Carducci, Brian Tyler Cohen, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Rep. Maxwell Frost, Leslie Jones, Olivia Julianna, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Beto O’Rourke, Sen. Alex Padilla, Aaron Parnas, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Martin Sheen, Harry Sisson, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
• Again, that’s tomorrow night starting at 4:30 PM PT / 7:30 PM ET. I’ll be there. And yes, I’ll remind you about it again tomorrow morning. It’s too important not to.
• Moving on.
• We barely made mention of the Colorado teen who opened fire in his high school this week, shooting two other students before killing himself.
• It turns out that shooter Desmond Holly, 16, was active on a so-called "violent gore" site months before the attack.
• Several school shooters in the past year, including Holly, had been active on the same website, which the organization says is known for hosting content backing white supremacist ideas as well as material portraying graphic violence against both people and animals.
• I’m not going to list the name of the site. It’s a place where people can watch real images of beheadings, shootings, and other violence. The site started on Reddit before being banned in March 2019.
• It can be accessed by anyone, with no barriers in age or any other criteria.
• In addition to Holly, the website’s visitors include 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow, who shot and killed a student and a teacher at Abundant Life Christian school in Wisconsin last year, and Solomon Henderson, a 17-year-old who committed a shooting that killed one and wounded another at Antioch High School in Nashville in January.
• Can these killings be stopped before they start? perhaps, with a little analysis. Many of the same signs and behavior patterns happen over and over again.
• Holly posted a photo of himself holding a gun next to a box of ammunition on his X account two hours before the shooting. On social media, he showcased his collection of tactical gear, which featured extremist symbols.
• Most of these people tell you who they are and what they’re all about long before they take action.
• Let’s move on.
• Yesterday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul endorsed Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City following months of skepticism.
• Better late than never. Oh, and I’d add that if Mamdani wasn’t dominating in the polls, Hochul would never have added her stamp of approval. But that’s politics.
• What inspired Hochul to endorse Mamdani? Hard to say, but the night before, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) accused Democratic leaders of engaging in “spineless politics” for not yet having voiced their support.
• He also argued that the Democratic Party “is not going to fix itself” and that to shape its future, Democrats need to start winning key races in Virginia, Iowa, and New Jersey, and line up behind Mamdani in his contest this fall.
• He’s right.
• Hochul’s endorsement, in an opinion piece last night in the New York Times, said she was not “aligned” with Mamdani on everything but that she shared his belief on issues like making New York more affordable.
• The only thing she said that seemed to show some balls was, “And in light of the abhorrent and destructive policies coming out of Washington every day, I needed to know the next mayor will not be someone who would surrender one inch to President Trump.”
• True.
• But it’s notable that some other top New York Democrats — including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — have so far declined to endorse Mamdani, the 33-year-old State Assembly member and democratic socialist who won the party’s mayoral primary in July.
• I often talk about how there are schisms within the MAGA world — like the one that resulted in a far-right Groyper assassinating somewhat-less-far-right Charlie Kirk last week.
• But Democrats have long had their own divisions between those who support progressive policies versus the traditional centrist liberals.
• You can’t take a can of red paint and a can of blue paint and expect that those two colors can be used to descriptive of every political outlook. It will never happen. It never has.
• Mamdani’s candidacy has exposed divisions in the party. Some have cheered on his surprising ascent, pointing to his populist proposals and far-reaching social media presence as a blueprint for turning around the party after a disappointing 2024 election.
• But others have distanced themselves from the “socialist” label and his criticism of Israel, while advocating that Democrats embrace more centrist economic positions.
• Dump learned about Hochul’s endorsement of Mamdani when he got out of bed today. Dumpy isn’t happy. That alone should tell you that Mamdani is the right guy for the job.
• “Governor Kathy Hochul of New York has endorsed the ‘Liddle’ Communist,’ Zohran Mamdani, running for Mayor of New York. This is a rather shocking development, and a very bad one for New York City. How can such a thing happen? Washington will be watching this situation very closely. No reason to be sending good money after bad!”
• Snort.
• Hey, since we brought him up, how about another quote from the President of the United States?
• Yesterday, a reporter pointed out that the president of Venezuela has called Dump’s military strike on an alleged drug-running boat illegal.
• Dump cut her off. “What’s illegal is the fact that 300 million people died last year from drugs.”
• The entire-ass population of the USA is 340 million people. There would only be 40 million of us left across the nation. Maybe I died from drugs last year and no one told me.
• Maybe you did too. RIP, 300 million of us, according to Dump.
• By the way, he could have just used the actual figure, which is terrible. It’s approximately 80,400 people. But no, Dump said that 90% of the USA died, because he does this shit all the time.
• Moving on.
• Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), a longtime lawmaker who has at times disagreed with Dump on foreign policy issues, will not seek reelection next year, he announced yesterday.
• McCaul joins two other Republicans — Reps. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) and Don Bacon (R-NE) — who have said that they will not run for reelection in the 2026 midterms. McCaul led the Foreign Affairs Committee from 2023 to 2025. He chaired the Homeland Security Committee between 2013 and 2019.
• Like a lot of the allegedly “good” Republicans in Congress, McCaul, in the immediate aftermath of the January 6, 2021 failed coup attempt, said that Dump might have committed “impeachable offenses … leading up to, and on, that tragic day.” But then McCaul did not vote to impeach Dump.
• Typical.
• Is there any chance that a Democrat could swoop in and pick up McCaul’s seat?
• Um, no, there’s not. McCaul’s district is bright red. He defeated his Democratic opponent in 2024 by nearly 30 percentage points.
• Let’s move on.
• Utah needs to calm the fuck down
• Two men in the state were arrested after an incendiary device was placed under a news media vehicle in Salt Lake City on Friday.
• The device had been lit but failed to function. Authorities arrested Adeeb Nasir, 58, and Adil Justice Ahmed Nasir, 31. They could face charges that include attempted aggravated arson, threat of terrorism, and possession of weapons of mass destruction. They are being held without bail.
• No other info is available yet, but the assassination of Charlie Kirk has drawn a higher media presence than usual to the area.
• In other news…
• Some breaking news this morning: a deal has allegedly been reached between Dump and China to keep TikTok operational in the United States.
• C’mon. You knew Dump would never allow himself to be “the guy who killed TikTok.” He’d never get a vote again from anyone under 30.
• US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that a framework agreement has been reached, and Dump will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping Friday to finalize the deal.
• Wonder what the deal is? Details are murky. The Dump administration did not name the US-backed buyer, but the group is widely expected to be led by Oracle executive chairman Larry Ellison, who last week briefly became the world’s richest person.
• Which would track. Musk owning Twitter, Ellison owning TikTok, both huge ass-kissers of Dumpy.
• Let’s move on.
• South Korea is extremely (and rightfully) angry at Dump and the USA for having arrested and shackled hundreds of skilled workers at the Hyundai battery plant in Georgia.
• How bad is it? Dump is groveling, and now claims the workers are welcome here.
• Someone wrote this for him to post late last night…
• “When Foreign Companies who are building extremely complex products, machines, and various other ‘things,’ come into the United States with massive Investments, I want them to bring their people of expertise for a period of time to teach and train our people how to make these very unique and complex products, as they phase out of our Country, and back into their land.”
• Uh huh. Maybe think of that before you humiliate them and put them in cuffs and chains.
• Moving on with a note from the Entertainment Desk…
• The Emmys were on last night. I don’t watch awards shows, but it seems like people enjoyed this one, and I always like Nate Bargatze, who was hosting.
• The biggest applause went to Stephen Colbert. He received a prolonged and rousing standing ovation for his talk series win. I love that the iconic moment was broadcast on CBS, the network that fired him for being mean to Dump.
• But I really only mention the awards show to quote the acceptance speech of “Hacks” star Hannah Einbinder, who won her first Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy.
• Side note: Einbinder’s mom is legendary SNL original cast member Laraine Newman.
• Anyway, Einbinder closed her speech with a shout out to the Philadelphia Eagles, and then added the first overtly political moment of the ceremony.
• “Go Birds, fuck ICE, and free Palestine,” she said. The profanity was muted on the telecast, but was loud and clear on social media clips where most people will see it
• Isn’t Einbinder Jewish? Like me (ethnically, anyway), she is.
• She said, “It is my obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish Jews from the state of Israel. Our religion and our culture is such an important and long-standing institution that is really separate to this sort of ethnonationalist state.”
• Well said.
• She’s one of 3,900 industry figures who recently signed an open letter declaring they will not work with Israeli institutions and film companies that are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.”
• There is no area of life anymore — from film and TV to games to sports to music to travel to hobbies to food to the arts — that is not impacted by this period of global unrest.
• And now, The Weather: “All Seven Seasons” by Sophia Stel
• From the Sports Desk… since there are still two games yet to be played in the NFL’s Week 2, I’m going to head back to the exciting playoff race of MLB for now.
• Each team has about 12 games remaining in the regular season, but if the playoffs were to start today…
• American League: 1. Blue Jays (87-62). 2. Tigers (85-65). 3. Yankees (83-66). 4. Mariners (82-68). 5. Red Sox (82-68). 6. Astros (81-69).
• National League: 1. Brewers (91-59). 2. Phillies (89-61). 3. Cubs (85-64). 4. Dodgers (84-65). 5. Padres (82-68). 6. Mets (77-73).
• And yet of all those teams, only the Brewers and Phillies have officially secured a playoff spot. Many things could happen over the next couple of weeks. Some of them will.
• Today in history… King Philip II of Spain sends an "Invincible Armada” to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I of England and gets crushed in the English Channel (1588). The United States "Department of Foreign Affairs” is renamed the Department of State (1789). Napoleon reaches the Kremlin in Moscow (1812). The Liverpool to Manchester railway line opens (1830). HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, reaches the Galápagos Islands (1835). Japan defeats Qing dynasty China in the Battle of Pyongyang (1894). Tanks are used for the first time in battle, at the Battle of the Somme in WWI (1916). Nazi Germany adopts a new national flag bearing the swastika (1935). Marilyn Monroe's iconic skirt scene is shot during filming for ‘The Seven Year Itch’ (1954). U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to a sniper attack at the University of Texas at Austin, writes a letter to Congress urging the enactment of gun control legislation (1967). Muhammad Ali outpoints Leon Spinks in a rematch to become the first boxer to win the world heavyweight title three times (1978). The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1981). The Summer Olympics are opened in Sydney, Australia (2000). Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history (2008).
• September 15 is the birthday of explorer Marco Polo (1254), dentist/educator/inventor George Franklin Grant (1846), politician William Howard Taft (1857), astronomer Anna Winlock (1857), car designer/businessman Ettore Bugatti (1881), writer Agatha Christie (1890), singer-songwriter/fiddle player Roy Acuff (1903), actress Fay Wray (1907), criminal and US attorney general John N. Mitchell (1913), comedian Nipsey Russell (1918), saxophonist/bandleader Cannonball Adderley (1928), MLB player Gaylord Perry (1938), NFL player/actor Merlin Olsen (1940), actor Tommy Lee Jones (1946), film director/producer Oliver Stone (1946), NFL coach Pete Carroll (1951), NFL player Dan Marino (1961), comedian/actor Jimmy Carr (1972), actor Tom Hardy (1977), Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (1984), and NBA player Dennis Schröder (1993).

As usual, that’s definitely not all the news. But it’s some news, and it’s the best I can do for a Monday morning. My brain doesn’t want to cooperate with (gestures randomly), so maybe it will get better after my workout that I do every day at 8am despite not wanting to. Sometimes you have to do stuff whether your brain and/or body want to or not. Enjoy your day.