09/22/26

Title

My Shoulder’s Real Real Bad

Good morning! It’s Tuesday, September 22nd.

American Business Women’s Day

Women? In business? Is that… allowed?

And now, the news.

Yosemite Helicopter Crash

-via ABC News

Starting in Yosemite, where two people have died in a helicopter crash during a flight to help put out a wildfire in the park.

The helicopter was a private helicopter and was dropping water on the flames at the time of the crash.

The fire currently burning in Yosemite is the Dome Fire. As of this recording, it’s burned nearly 3,400 acres and is 15% contained.

Update: ICE Shooting

-via AP News and The Guardian

And moving to Texas where there’s an update on Sunday’s incident, where an ICE official shot a man.

Since Sunday, we’ve learned a few things.

First, we know the man, Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, entered the county legally in 2024, using the CBP One program. That program was ended by Trump on his first day in office.

He is an asylum seeker with a permit to work, which is what he was doing when the shooting occurred – he was driving for DoorDash. He was sent a deportation order, but the order was missed because it was sent to an old address. He says he sent a change of address notice to the court.

As a reminder, all that means is that Perez committed the same amount of misdemeanor as jaywalking.

We also now know how the damage to the car happened. It occurred when the officer’s car sideswiped the man’s vehicle. The ICE officers were in an unmarked truck. They didn’t ask him to stop, nor did they turn on their lights, before they hit him. After hitting his car the first time, he was told he’d be arrested, and he asked if he could move his car to the side of the road. The ICE officer said no, but he did it anyway. And that’s when they hit him again before firing into the car.

Yesterday I said there was a small chase. Perez says that never happened. Video that’s been released so far doesn’t appear to show a chase either.

But also… the ICE officials sideswiped the car and then shot into it… how sure were they that Perez was the driver? They were checking plates and discovered the car was registered to Perez, but how could they be sure it was him driving? Or do we think it’s more possible that they just saw a brown man driving and thought… must be illegal.

We also now know where Perez is – he was first taken to the hospital, for his gunshot wound. After that? He was transferred to an ICE facility.

He still has a bullet in him.

He has a bullet in his back and, per Perez, he’s had to sleep on the ground and received no medication or anything beyond “a pill.”

He has a bullet in his back.

He came here the right way, and a paperwork error caused him to him a hearing, and now he’s in an ICE facility with a bullet in his back and no medical attention beyond “a pill.”

And in Illinois, on Sunday, the same day the shooting happened in Austin, officers were called to an argument between two men and when they got there, a man was on the ground with injuries to his head, neck, and teeth.

It’s believed that one of the men (as identified by witnesses) was an ICE official. You’ll be shocked to hear that wasn’t the man on the ground.

The man on the ground is a US citizen.

Per the statement: “The agent told the officer that agents had attempted to identify an individual who resembled a person they were seeking. He said the individual refused to provide identification, was detained for fingerprinting, and resisted detention. Agents later determined he was not the person they were seeking and learned that he was a US citizen. He was released.”

After being beaten!

And he was only pulled over because he was brown, FYI. “Resembled a person they were seeking.”

I wonder what the resemblance was.

Trump’s America, friends.

Flights Delayed

-via AP News

Hundreds of flights all over the US’ northeast region saw delays on Monday due to technical issues, including a backup fiber optic line was inadvertently severed by railroad construction workers.

The affected flights were those in and out of Kennedy, LaGuardia, Newark, and Philadelphia.

It happened ahead of this week’s UN General Assembly, when flights from all over the world will be headed here.

I’m not sure why but for reasons truly unknowable, I feel compelled to remind us all that the Secretary of Transportation is a former Real World, Road Rules participant. So… he knows things…

Paramount Merger Takes Next Step

-via Deadline

Speaking of television…

In yesterday’s episode I said that California’s AG Bonta was considering letting the anti-trust settlement go through, allowing the Paramount-WB merger to go through…

The anti-trust settlement went through.

Making it look more and more like the merger will go through.

Paramount says they’ll keep their LA headquarters, with the settlement forcing Paramount’s Melrose lot and WB’s Burbank lot to stay in LA for five years. Eyeroll Ellison added, “Let me be clear: the newly merged company will be headquartered in Los Angeles,” Ellison said in a new statement. “We aren’t going anywhere. Our history is here and this is where our future is being built.”

Oh, well if you’re being clear, I have no reason not to believe you. (jkjk I don’t trust the Ellisons as far as I can through them. And guess what? My shoulder’s real real bad. I can’t throw a human adult, as lame as these men appear to be.)

Paramount also says it’ll keep Pluto TV (now streaming Hart of Dixie!) for the next five years, while BET, VH1, and Comedy Central are in danger.

Nickelodeon and MTV are safe for now.

These are hundreds and potentially hundreds of thousands of jobs now on the potential chopping block. Like, it’s GREAT, genuinely, that they’re keeping the networks they are. But the won’t they aren’t? Those are real lives. Real career.

Thrown into chaos.

All so the Ellison’s can control what you see. What news you hear. All of it.

Trump Says He’ll Lose

-via The Hill and The Guardian

After kicking CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the White House (because they aren’t nice, apparently), the networks have decided to sue (as we all predicted they would).

And now Trump’s got a little prediction as well… he’s gonna lose in court.

“They have drawn a great Judge, for them. In other words, almost without question and, as usual, we’ll go for appeal.”

Here’s the best part… it’s a Trump appointed judge!

And he’s already like eh, we’ll appeal.

Because he knows this is a First Amendment violation. The hearing is scheduled for tomorrow so… we’ll see what happens!

Don’t worry, his friend Larry just bought Warner Bros, so I’m sure he’ll have positive news coverage soon.

And that’s it. That’s the news.

I’m proud of women in business in America.

Wow. Look how far we’ve come. Women! In business! Truly incredible stuff.

But more than women in business, because you’re in the BUSINESS of being great… I’m proud of you.