Random News and Notes 8 November

On this Date:

• 392 – Theodosius of Rome passes legislation prohibiting all pagan worship in the empire.
• 1226 – Louis IX succeeds Louis VIII as king of France.
• 1576 – The 17 provinces of the Netherlands form a federation to maintain peace.
• 1620 – Frederick V, the King of Bohemia is defeated at the Battle of Prague.
• 1685 – Fredrick William of Brandenburg issues the Edict of Potsdam, offering Huguenots refuge.
• 1861 – Charles Wilkes seizes Confederate commissioners John Slidell and James M. Mason from the British ship Trent.
• 1864 – President Abraham Lincoln is re-elected in the first wartime election in the United States.
• 1887 – Doc Holliday, who fought on the side of the Earp brothers during the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral 6 years earlier, dies of tuberculosis in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
• 1889 – Montana becomes the 41st state of the Union.
• 1904 – President Theodore Roosevelt is elected president of the United States. He had been vice president until the shooting death of President William McKinley.
• 1923 – Adolf Hitler attempts a coup in Munich, the “Beer Hall Putsch,” and proclaims himself chancellor and Ludendorff dictator.
• 1932 – Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected 32nd president of the United States.
• 1939 – On the 16th anniversary of Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch, a bomb explodes just after Hitler has finished giving a speech. He was unharmed.
• 1942 – Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of Axis-occupied North Africa begins.
• 1951 – Yankees catcher Yogi Berra (1925-2015) is voted the American League’s most valuable player for the first time in his career.
• 1960 – John F. Kennedy is elected 35th president, defeating Republican candidate Richard Nixon in the closest election, by popular vote, since 1880.
• 1965 – During Operation Hump the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team was ambushed by over 1,200 Viet Cong in Bien Hoa Province. Nearby, in the Gang Toi Hills, a company of the Royal Australian Regiment also engaged Viet Cong forces. Specialist Five Lawrence Joel, a medic with the 1st Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade would be awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during this action.
• 1977 – Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos discovers what is believed to be the tomb of Philip II of Macedon at Vergina in northern Greece.
• 1987 – A dozen people are killed and over 60 wounded when the IRA detonates a bomb during a Remembrance Day ceremony in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, honoring those who had died in wars involving British forces.
• 2004 – More than 10,000 US troops and a few Iraqi army units besiege an insurgent stronghold at Fallujah.
• 2013 – Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms ever recorded, slams into the Philippines, with sustained winds of 195 mpg (315 kph) and gusts up to 235 mph (380 kph); over 5,000 are killed

Most of y’all know where I personally stand on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In case you don’t, here’s a recap; F*ck Russia and F*ck Putin. On that note, there is a bit of news on the naked aggression of the Kremlin. An internal Russian MOD document detailing Russian losses leaked. Official Rosstat records showing at least 450,100 war-related fatalities and 1.6 million casualties showed up online over the past few days.

For perspective, the Soviets lost some 15-20,000 killed in the 10 years in Afghanistan and Russia lost around 12,000 in the 12 years of the two Chechen wars.

A driver in North Carolina mowed down a bunch of cyclists yesterday. Around 9:40 a.m. on Saturday, 76-year-old Donald Robert Morris-Jones drove his black Infiniti across the centerline, striking about 30 members of the Capital Cycling Club. The 63-year-old Patrick Allen Turner from Cary died at the scene, seven others suffered serious injuries requiring trauma centers, and around 20 were hurt in total.

Morris-Jones faces charges including driving while impaired, felony death by vehicle, and hit-and-run, with impairment suspected; he’s held on $1 million bond as the investigation continues.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark err New Jersey. More rotten that is. Particularly in Cranbury Township. The town just announced it fell victim to a $28 million scam some 5 weeks ago. The fraudulent wire transfer hit funds for property purchases to meet the township’s affordable housing obligations. A multiagency task force has frozen $17.3 million, with $8.7 million still missing, as the investigation continues.

Mayor Lisa Knierim announced it November 6, after Democrat Thomas Szczur Jr. won his election bid 63% to 37%, preserving the all-Democrat council. Funny that.

Ahmet Kerem Korkaya, part of the so-called ‘Michigan 8,’ faces federal charges for an alleged campaign of threats, vandalism, and intimidation targeting University of Michigan officials and a Jewish federation to push for Israel divestment. Court documents detail messages about poisoning, hit lists, and ramming a car into a home with children, plus possession of Hamas materials. On November 3, 2026, Judge Judith E. Levy removed his ankle monitor, citing interference with his job teaching fifth-grade science and math at Salam School in Milwaukee and coaching youth soccer, despite prosecutors’ warnings of community risk.

He has pleaded not guilty, with his passport held and the case pending.

TF? Really?