Random News and Notes 22 June
On this date in 1940 French Marshal Philippe Petain signed an armistice with the invading Germans. Hitler forced the French to sign the armistice at the same location that the Germans had surrendered to end WWI, Compiegne. He also used the same railcar that had been used in 1918
The entire event was scripted for maximum French humiliation. The actual surrender documents would be signed the next day.
On this day in 1941 more than 3 million German troops invade Russia in three parallel offensives, in what is the most powerful invasion force in history. Nineteen panzer divisions, 3,000 tanks, 2,500 aircraft, and 7,000 artillery pieces pour across a thousand-mile front as Hitler goes to war on a second front. It was the start of Operation Barbarossa.
It would prove to be a critical strategic mistake. The operation quickly bogged down and few of the operational objectives were achieved.
On this date in 1969, the Cuyahoga river in Cleveland Ohio, caught fire. It was not the first time the river had burst into flames, it had happened at least 10 times before. It was not the largest fire on the river either, but it did attract national attention.
This would be the last time the river would catch fire. The attention sped up efforts to clean up the river.
There was a fatal crash on the 210 in Irwindale California yesterday. A semi-truck veered across several lanes for the freeway in front of oncoming traffic causing a major pile up. 58-year-old Christina King was killed and while 32 people total were hurt with 10 hospitalized, including six children.
Why am I telling you about a local-ish at best story? Because of the name being tossed about as the driver of the rig; Jashanpreet Singh. If – and right now the name is unconfirmed by CHP – this is the driver, he is the same one that caused a fatal crash in that area a couple of months ago and is here illegally. I’ll be watching this one to correct the record either way.
Our next two stories are out of the UK. First up, it’s official. Keir Starmer has resigned as Prime Minister. He will stick around long enough for a transition to whoever is next. Larry the Cat made the announcement on his Twitter:
Larry, 19, has been chief mouser at 10 Downing street since 2011 and has outlasted 6 Prme Ministers. Frankly, he’d do a better job than any of the 6 he’s seen comes and go.
This next one is a bit nuanced. A group of teen-ish girls were beaten up by police in the Rawmarsh neighborhood of Rotherham. The location is important, so hang on to that for a sec. It appears the girls were mouthing off at the officers after the cops broke up a graduation party nearby. The bobbies then started in on the girls. Watch:
Were the girls out of line? Maybe, but if you can’t deal with some loud teen girls without resorting to baton strikes over what they said, you don’t need to be in policing.
Now, some of you will already know why the location is important. Rotherham was ground zero in the grooming scandal. And as you can see, the peelers are fine with roughing up young English girls but will not stand up to Pakistani rapists.
The Supreme Court just reinstated the murder conviction of one Pedro Hernandez. Some of you may recall the name, the trials in 2015 and 2016 got widespread media coverage. Hernandez was charged – and later convicted – in the 1979 murder of 6-year-old Etan Patz. Etan disappeared in 1979 while walking to a school bus stop in SoHo, Manhattan. His case became a high-profile cold case that changed parenting norms. No body was ever found.
In July 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overturned the conviction. It ruled that the state trial judge gave “manifestly inaccurate” instructions to the jury in response to a note about the voluntariness of Hernandez’s confessions (an issue under New York law that the defense could argue to the jury). The appeals court said this violated clearly established federal law and ordered a new trial or release.
In a 6-3 per curiam decision, the Court held that the federal appeals court overstepped limits on reviewing state convictions. Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson dissented.
Back in February, federal officials raided the home and offices of Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. The raids were part of a corruption probe involving potential kickbacks including $3 million LAUSD paid for an AI-powered chatbot called “Ed”.
The founder of the chatbot company, Joanna Smith-Griffin, later faces federal charges for securities and wire fraud.
It looks like everyone is on the take in Cali.