Random News and Notes 17 October
On this date:
- 1244 – The Sixth Crusade ends when an Egyptian-Khwarismian force almost annihilates the Frankish army at Gaza.
- 1346 – English forces defeat the Scots under David II during the Battle of Neville’s Cross, Scotland.
- 1529 – Henry VIII of England strips Thomas Wolsey of his office for failing to secure an annulment of his marriage. Wolsey was a Cardinal and Lord High Chancellor of England. He would die a bit more than a year later.
- 1691 – Maine and Plymouth are incorporated in Massachusetts.
- 1777 – British Maj. Gen. John Burgoyne surrenders 5,000 men at Saratoga, N.Y.
- 1815 – Napoleon Bonaparte arrives at the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic, where he has been banished by the Allies.
- 1835 – Texians approve a resolution to create the Texas Rangers, a corps of armed and mounted lawmen designed to “range and guard the frontier between the Brazos and Trinity Rivers.”
- 1863 – General Ulysses S. Grant is named overall Union Commander of the West.
- 1877 – Brigadier General Alfred Terry meets with Sitting Bull in Canada to discuss the Indians’ return to the United States.
- 1912 – Following the example of Montenegro, their smaller ally in the tumultuous Balkan region of Europe, Serbia and Greece declare war on the Ottoman Empire, beginning the First Balkan War in earnest.
- 1913 – Zeppelin LII explodes southeast of central Berlin, killing 28.
- 1931 – Al Capone is convicted of tax evasion, signaling the downfall of one of the most notorious criminals of the 1920s and 1930s. He was later sentenced to 11 years in federal prison and fined $50,000.
- 1941 – The U.S. destroyer Kearney is damaged by a German U-boat torpedo off Iceland; 11 Americans are killed.
- 1956 – The nuclear power station at Calder Hall is opened in Britain. Calder Hall is the first nuclear station to feed an appreciable amount of power into a civilian network.
- 1973 – The Arab-dominated Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announces a decision to cut oil exports to the United States and other nations that provided military aid to Israel in the Yom Kippur War of October 1973.
- 1989 – The worst earthquake in 82 years strikes San Francisco bay area minutes before the start of a World Series game there. The earthquake registers 6.9 on the Richter scale–67 are killed and damage is estimated at $10 billion.
We start the news with a spooky season related story. The Food Manufacturing Guy – an account worth following – broke down Brach’s classic candy corn label, listing sugar, corn syrup, and less than 2% of ingredients like shellac for the shine, pork or beef gelatin for the chew, and dyes including new Red 40 after Red 3’s phase-out.
Shellac is what a lac insect leaves on tree branches in India and Thailand. It gets scraped off the bark, cleaned, dissolved in alcohol and tumbled over the candy, and it dries into the same hard coat that goes on a hardwood floor. That’s the shine, and it’s why the pieces don’t glue themselves together in the bag. The gelatin is pork or beef collagen, there for the chew. The honey Brach’s puts on the front of the bag is under 2%, behind the salt.
Bags on shelves this fall list Red 40. Last year’s listed Red 3, which FDA pulled from food in January 2025 with a 2027 deadline. Brach’s says it makes about 7 billion kernels a year.
Shellac is a relatively common food ingredient and is safe to eat according to the FDA. And it isn’t the only common bug-derived food additive. Red 4 is a vibrant red or crimson food coloring made from crushed female cochineal scale insects (which live on cacti). It is commonly used in candies, yogurt, ice cream, soft drinks, and processed meats. Labels may list it as carmine, cochineal, natural red 4, or E120. There are others. . .
Related, shout out your favorite Hallowe’en treat in the comments.
The Wisconsin Election Commission just banned 1,800 election clerks from using federal databases to verify voter citizenship. The October 15 guidance bars sharing personal data like birth dates or Social Security numbers needed for the SAVE system, even after a September 25 Supreme Court ruling allowed broader state access. Officials say existing checks with state agencies like the Department of Transportation are enough, while relying on voters’ self-attestation of citizenship.
The reasoning behind the rule is a state privacy law that blocks sharing basic info like dates of birth. The same guidance says ICE, DHS, and FBI agents who show up at the polls get treated like ordinary observers. If federal agents are even spotted in the parking lot and aren’t “taking a lawful action,” clerks are instructed to call local police on them.
Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is erupting. The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported fountains starting at 100-150 feet high from the north vent in Halemaʻumaʻu crater, following 359 precursory overflows since Episode 54 ended. All activity remains confined to the crater, with the volcano alert level at WATCH and aviation code ORANGE, as the south and west vents also contribute continuous lava flows and rising tremor signals.
This episodic eruption, ongoing since December 2024, shows shifting patterns after a September dike intrusion.
If you are in the District this weekend, be aware the Capitol Police are holding a training exercise on Sunday.
Imma keep it real, you don’t have to go far from the Capitol to hear real gunfire not simulated. The last time I was in DC, I stayed at the Hyatt Place near the Capitol and was serenaded by a shootout shortly after midnight.
A 71 year old Winter Park Florida man was attacked and killed by an alligator while fishing in Lake Apopka. Steven Hamilton, 71, was killed by the gator Friday night at Dr. Bradford Memorial Park. Winter Park is approximately 20 minutes from downtown Orlando.
Authorities have captured and dispatched the alligator in question.
