Congratulations, you played yourself
Zander's Weekend Facts #152 - Sunday, January 12, 2025
Canada as the 51st state? Hello Greenland? The Gulf of America?
Welcome to the second Donald Trump presidency, friends. No, you should not be taking any of this seriously. Canada will not become a part of the United States, and we won’t fight a war with Denmark over a territory of 60,000 people.
But if you were more focused on these charades than the other happenings in American politics, then you’ve been played.
The president-elect hasn’t always stuck to the script, and that’s by design. By focusing the world on his fantastical annexations of Greenland and the Panama Canal, he’s turned the attention away from you should really be paying attention to.
Next week, the Senate will begin confirmation hearings on Trump’s nominees for key positions in his administration. While worrying over how many Senators Canada will receive, you may have forgotten that an alcoholic Fox News host is the nominee to lead the Pentagon. Or that Trump’s nominee to head the FBI has numerously declared to seek vengeance on the enemies of the former president. Or that Tulsi Gabbard, a fan-favorite of Russian state television, is the choice to be Director of National Intelligence.
Even Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau remarked that Trump is using his newfound obsessions to distract from the disastrous economic impact that his proposed tariffs would have, not on the targeted countries, but on the people that voted for him.
So, if you’re going to get through the next four years, it’s best not to hang every morsel of your sanity on the words of the first president in American history who happens to be felon.
For more information on this week’s top story, here’s an article from The Hill - Warren: Trump expansion talk a distraction from nominees
What Zander’s been reading
Election fraud was the tale of the season back in 2020. Even when Republicans won in 2024, they apparently haven’t had enough. In North Carolina, a Republican who received fewer votes than his Democratic opponent in a state Supreme Court election is now asking the state Supreme Court to throw out tens of thousands of ballots so he can be declared the winner.
Check out this week’s featured article in The Atlantic - Stop the (North Carolina) Steal
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the latest headlines from the sports world in the Sporting Club:
NFL Playoffs: Two spots in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs have been claimed, while four openings remain. On Saturday, the #4 Texans dominated the #5 Chargers 32-12, while the #3 Ravens took down their division rival #6 Steelers 28-14. Sunday features a Playoff triple header beginning at 1:00 pm ET on CBS as the Bills host the Broncos. At 4:30 pm ET on Fox, the #7 Packers take on the #2 Eagles, while the #6 Commanders visit the #3 Buccaneers at 8:15 pm ET on NBC. The Wild Card Round concludes on Monday as the #5 Vikings face the #4 Rams. The #1 seeds in their respective conferences, the Chiefs and Lions, received byes and will begin postseason play next weekend.
College Football Playoff: #7 Notre Dame and #8 Ohio State will meet up in the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship. The Fighting Irish used a late field goal to knock off #6 Penn State 27-24 in the Capital One Orange Bowl semifinal, while the Buckeyes took down #5 Texas 28-14 in their semifinal game at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. The two sides are two of the most historically successful teams in college football, with Ohio State placing second all-time with 976 wins and Notre Dame tied for fourth with 961. A victory in the championship game would be Ohio State’s ninth title and Notre Dame’s 14th. The CFP National Championship will take place next Monday, January 20, at 7:30 pm ET on ESPN.
Wildfire Postponements: The wildfires in California have forced postponements in the sports world. The NBA postponed two matchups set for Saturday, Hornets-Clippers and Spurs-Lakers, after postponing a Hornets-Lakers game on Thursday. Another NBA game in Atlanta, Rockets-Hawks, was postponed on Saturday due to icy conditions. The fires have claimed the home of Lakers head coach JJ Redick. The NFL was also forced to move Monday’s Vikings-Rams Playoff game to Glendale, Arizona.
NFL Coaching Carousel: Following the conclusion of the NFL’s regular season, six head coaching jobs are now open across the league. While the Bears, Jets, and Saints fired their coaches during the season, the Jaguars, Patriots, and Raiders jobs came open after their respective seasons concluded. Jarod Mayo and Antonio Pierce, the former coaches of the Patriots and Raiders, respectively, had only been in the top jobs for one season.
Venu Sports: The three companies involved in a joint sports streaming service, Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery, announced on Friday that Venu Sports would not launch. The service had been set to launch in the fall, but was halted by a lawsuit from internet tv provider Fubo. Earlier last week, Disney announced that it had settled with Fubo, which will result in a merger between Fubo and Disney’s Hulu + Live TV service. Disney is set to launch an ESPN direct-to-consumer service later this year that requires no third-party cable or streaming provider.
Rapid-fire Facts
Here’s a recap of the top news headlines from the past week:
California Wildfires: The Los Angeles area has been grappling with several devastating wildfires over the last week. Over 150,000 residents have been placed under mandatory evacuation orders as the largest of the blazes, the Palisades fire, is just 11% contained. At least 16 people have died, while 37,000 acres have been burned and 12,000 structures have been destroyed. Weather conditions in the area have brought an enhanced risk for fires recently, with wind gusts reaching upwards of 70 miles per hour. Live updates can be found at the NBC News link below.
Trump Sentence: President-elect Donald Trump was handed down a sentence in the New York hush money trial on Friday, making Trump the first felon to serve as president in American history. Trump’s sentence, however, carried no penalty as Judge Juan Merchan sentenced Trump to an unconditional discharge. Trump’s circumstance, being inaugurated as the next president next Monday, resulted in the unusual sentence. On Saturday, Jack Smith, the special counsel who led two federal prosecutions of Trump, resigned.
TikTok Ban: The Supreme Court held arguments on Friday in the case that could result in the social media site TikTok being banned in the U.S. one week from today. The vast majority of the nine-panel high court appeared likely to uphold the law, with many of the justices citing national security concerns. TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is based in China and has the option of selling TikTok under the law. During the arguments, chief justice John Roberts disagreed with TikTok’s argument that the ban violated free speech laws. TikTok’s lawyers argued before the court that the federal government has “no valid interest in preventing foreign propaganda.”
Justin Trudeau: Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday that he is stepping down as head of the ruling Liberal Party. Trudeau has served as the country’s prime minister since 2015, but recent polls show more voters support the opposition Conservative Party. Trudeau’s resignation comes at a time when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on products coming into the U.S. from Canada and has referred to the country as the “51st state.” The country is required to have its next parliamentary elections before October 20.
Meta Fact Checking: Meta, the parent company of social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, announced it would be ending its fact checking program. The company’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, said that the company failed in its previous attempts to moderate content and claimed that the moves would restore “free expression on our platforms.” The move represents a shifting sentiment in Silicon Valley towards a second administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who previously threatened to have Zuckerberg jailed for election interference.
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The Facts in Print return next Sunday, January 19, 2025.
