ZWF: Take care of your own state, Ron
Zander's Weekend Facts #62: Sunday, April 16, 2023
While parts of South Florida were drowning in flood waters, the state’s Governor was in Ohio promoting his book.
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, a historic weather event in Florida brings a miniscule response from its governor, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast! Episode 101 features a preview of the NBA Playoffs with Zander’s Facts NBA analyst Hill Billy. Go download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, April 16, 2023:
With historic flooding, Florida’s Governor M.I.A.
In what’s only become a more common occurrence, a historic weather event hit the U.S. last week.
Historic rainfall has led to massive flooding across South Florida over the last couple of days. In Fort Lauderdale, 25.91 inches of rain fell within a 24-hour period, a record. Many other areas also recorded over a foot on rain.
The results… were not great.
Abandoned cars littered roadways that had turned into rivers, travel was nearly impossible, and even the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport had to be shut down.
But on Thursday, one day after the floodwaters began rising, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis was asked whether the Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, has been in contact with the locality hit by the historic rainfall:
https://twitter.com/NoLieWithBTC/status/1646559787377623042?s=20
Governor DeSantis has not yet called. I’m not sure what’s going on but I’m sure he’s very interested in what’s going on here and we’re happy to work with his office.
Wishful thinking, perhaps, on the mayor’s part.
At the time, DeSantis was in Michigan and Ohio, speaking at Hillsdale College and the Summit County Lincoln Day breakfast in Akron. DeSantis was promoting his new book, The Courage to be Free, claiming “The battle against the woke agenda is critical to the future of our nation,” and undoubtedly plotting an entrance into the 2024 Republican Presidential primary field.
Now, DeSantis did return to the state of Florida shortly after, but not to Fort Lauderdale. Instead, DeSantis signed a bill that would ban abortion in the state after six weeks, an act opposed by the majority of his constituents.
DeSantis then continued on his trek across the country, visiting Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia and a Republican Party fundraising event in Manchester, New Hampshire.
He promoted those events on Twitter as well, while here’s only tweet he’s sent about the disaster in his state:
If Ron DeSantis can’t even bother to take care of the crises facing the state of Florida, he probably wouldn’t do much better at the next level.
For more information on this week’s top story, take a look at this article from AP News - Florida floods: Businesses, residents begin cleaning up mess
What Zander’s been reading
The Darién Gap is one of the most mysterious places on the planet. The area that separates Panama and North America from Columbia and South America is treacherous to travel through, with the Pan-American Highway taking a 66 mile break at the Darién Gap. However, migrants making the journey from South America to the United States routinely go through the cartel-run jungle illegally, something the U.S. now wants to cease.
Check out this week’s featured article on CNN - On one of the world’s most dangerous migrant routes, a cartel makes millions off the American dream - (Link for article on Apple News)
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the ZF Sporting Club:
NBA Playoffs Begin: The First Round of the NBA Playoffs got underway yesterday with four of the eight matchups completing the first game in a best-of seven game series. In the Eastern Confernce, the #3 seed Philadelphia 76ers beat the #6 seed Brooklyn Nets, the #2 Boston Celtics bested the #7 Atlanta Hawks, and the #5 New York Knicks took down the #4 Cleveland Cavaliers. In the Western Conference, the #- - defeated the #- -. Later today, the remaining four series get underway with the #8 Miami Heat facing the #1 Milwaukee Bucks in the East at 5:30 pm et on TNT. In the West, the #6 Los Angeles Lakers take on the #2 Memphis Grizzlies at 3:00 pm et on ABC, the #5 Los Angeles Clippers play the #4 Phoenix Suns at 8:00 pm et on TNT, and the #8 Minnesota Timberwolves face the #1 Denver Nuggets at 10:30 pm et on TNT.
NHL Playoffs Set: The First Round of the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs are set to begin on Monday with the regular season having wrapped up on Friday. In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins take on the Florida Panthers, the Toronto Maple Leafs face the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Carolina Hurricanes play the New York Islanders, and the New Jersey Devils face the New York Rangers. In the Western Conference, the Colorado Avalanche take on the Seattle Kraken, the Dallas Stars face the Minnesota Wild, the Vegas Golden Knights play the Winnipeg Jets, and the Edmonton Oilers’ opponents are the Los Angeles Kings.
Commanders Sale: The owners of the NFL’s Washington Commanders, Daniel and Tanya Snyder, have reportedly agreed to sell the franchise for a record $6.05 billion. The reported buyer of the franchise is a group led by Josh Harris, co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, and minority owner in the Pittsburgh Steelers. League owners are expected to vote on the deal in May, with 24 of the 32 owners needed to approve the sale. The Snyder’s have been some of the most controversial owners in sports, with the team winning just two playoff games since they bought the team in 2000. Daniel Snyder has also been accused of sexual harassment and financial impropriety.
The Masters: Jon Rahm shot 12 under par to win his first green jacket at the Masters Tournament. In a tournament that was highlighted by the feud between the PGA Tour and LIV, three of the top six finishers were golfers who left the PGA Tour to join LIV. Phil Mickelson (-8), Brooks Koepka (-8), and Patrick Reed (-7) all finished in the top five, while Jordan Spieth and Russell Henley at -7 were the PGA Tour golfers along with Rahm finishing at the top of the leaderboard. This weekend, the PGA Tour is hosting the RBC Heritage, a designated event of which players are only allowed to opt out of one this year. Rory McIlroy, who previously opted out of one designated event and is not playing at the RBC Heritage, was docked $3 million from his $12 million season bonus.
Miles Bridges: The NBA suspended former Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges 30 games after Bridges was arrested for domestic violence last year. Bridges was arrested on June 27, 2022, with his wife Mychelle Johnson sharing graphic images of herself on Instagram a few days later. Bridges has been a free agent since last offseason and did not play this season. The NBA determined that because Bridges did not play last season, he has already served 20 games of the suspension, meaning he will only miss 10 games next season if signed by a team.
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
Pentagon Document Leak: Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was arrested on Thursday after being accused of leaking highly classified military documents. The documents related to the war in Ukraine and other national security matters. The 21 year old Teixeira was an IT specialist with a high security clearance who is believed to have shared classified information on social media site Discord. Teixeira is charged with removing or transmitting classified national defense information, a crime placed under the Espionage Act.
Abortion Pill: The Supreme Court has temporarily put on hold a lower court ruling that would restrict access to the abortion pill mifepristone. Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the decision overturning Roe v. Wade, granted the Justice Department’s request for an administrative stay, which allows the court to determine whether they will take up the case. Previously, a federal district judge halted the FDA’s approval of midepristone, which occurred in 2000. Elsewhere, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a six-week abortion ban into law on Thursday.
Tennessee Legislature: The two Democratic lawmakers who were expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, have been reinstated. Both Jones and Pearson reclaimed their seats last week after their local legislatures, the Nashville Metropolitan Council and Shelby County Board of Commissioners, voted to send them back to the state legislature. Also last week, Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) called for new laws in the state to remove guns from people, also known as a red-flag law, and signed an executive order strengthening background checks. Inadvertently, the publicity of the situation has shined a light on Tennessee’s Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton. Online investigations have found that Sexton may be breaking Tenessee’s residency rule by not living in his district.
Dianne Feinstein: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has asked to step away from the Senate Judiciary Committee. Feinstein, who at 89 years old is the oldest current U.S. Senator, has not been in the Senate since February while recovering from an infection. Feinstein’s absence on 58 votes has hindered Senate Democrats hoping to pass President Biden’s judicial nominations. Appointing a temporary replacement on the committee would need 60 votes in the Senate, requiring Republican support. Feinstein has previously announced that she will not seek reelection in 2024.
EPA Regulations: The Environmental Protection Agency announced new proposed regulations on vehicle emissions last week. If implemented, the EPA estimates that the new rules would require nearly 67% of all new vehicle purchases to be electric vehicles by 2032. The regulations would eliminate 7.2 billion tons of CO2, about what the U.S. transportation sector emits in four years. The EPA also estimates that the proposals could save Americans anywhere between $580 billion and $1.1 trillion on gasoline costs, and an additional $280 billion to $580 billion on vehicle maintenance.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
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You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.substack.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment! That includes the next Zander’s Facts flashback, which comes out this Wednesday!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The Facts in print return next Sunday, April 23, 2023.
