Plus Pages

Monday, October 24, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Russia Warned About Using 'Dirty Bombs'

The top diplomats in France, Britain and the United States, three of Ukraine’s strongest allies, issued a rare joint statement that rejected Russia’s allegation that Kyiv is preparing to use a so-called dirty bomb on its own territory, calling it a pretext Moscow has concocted for escalating the war. In the statement, the three governments confirmed that their defense ministers had each spoken with the Russian defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, and rejected “Russia’s transparently false allegations” about a dirty bomb.
“The world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation,” the statement said.  A so-called dirty bomb uses traditional explosives to spray radioactive material.


➤BORIS JOHNSON OUT OF RACE TO BE NEXT UK PRIME MINISTER: On Sunday, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he will not run to lead the Conservative Party. By withdrawing, it leaves former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak as the strong favorite to become Britain’s next prime minister and could win the contest as soon as Monday.

➤TWO KOREAS EXCHANGE WARNING SHOTS NEAR BORDER AMID TENSIONS:  North and South Korea exchanged warning shots off the west coast on Monday amid heightened animosities over North Korea’s recent barrage of weapons tests. South Korean officials say its navy fired a warning shot toward a North Korean merchant ship that had crossed the maritime line. North Korea says it responded with 10 rounds of artillery shells. According to the Associated Press, South Korea and the United States are to hold joint air force drills next week involving around 240 warplanes operated by both nations.



➤JUDGE IN CALIFORNIA RULES IN FAVOR OF BAKER OVER SAME-SEX WEDDING CAKE: A judge in California ruled in favor of a bakery owner who refused to make wedding cakes for a same-sex couple because it violated her Christian beliefs. Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield was sued by the state Department of Fair Housing and Employment claiming owner, Cathy Miller, intentionally discriminated against the couple. Miller’s attorneys made the case that her right to free speech and free expression of religion trumped the argument that she violated the anti-discrimination law. Judge Eric Bradshaw ruled Friday that Miller acted lawfully while upholding her beliefs about what the Bible teaches regarding marriage.

➤WOMAN STOLE OVER $1,000 WORTH OF ITEMS FROM WALMART SINCE APRIL: Police arrested Michigan woman for allegedly stealing from Walmart by not scanning all of her items when checking out through a self-checkout register. TeddyJo Marie Fliam was using the self-checkout at Walmart when loss prevention workers noticed she wasn't scanning every item. Fliam denied she was skipping items when confronted and left the store.  The store reviewed their security footage and found out Fliam had stolen more than $1,000 in merchandise by not scanning it from Walmart since April. Walmart began using artificial intelligence to monitor self-checkout thefts in 2019, using cameras to make sure every item that has been bagged was scanned.


➤PFIZER SAYS COVID-19 VACCINE WILL COST $110-$130 PER DOSE: Pfizer will charge $110 to $130 per each COVID-19 vaccine dose once the U.S. government stops buying the shots, however, the drugmaker still expects many people will continue to receive it for free. According to Pfizer executives, the commercial pricing for adult doses could start as early as next year, depending on when the government decides to phase out its program of buying and distributing the shots.\


➤CHICK-FIL-A IS GEN Z'S FAVORITE RESTAURANT: Annual Piper Sandler study surveyed 14,500 teens in 47 states and 15% of participants listed Chick-Fil-A as their go to restaurant give them top rank. Starbucks came in second at 12% of teens, followed by Chipotle with 7%, McDonald’s with 6% and Olive Garden with 3%.


➤LIFE ON MARS MAY HAVE BEEN WIPED OUT BY LIFE ON MARS: Evidence shows Mars was once a warm, wet planet and even had an atmosphere. In the ancient Noachian Period, between 3.7 billion and 4.1 billion years ago, Mars also had surface water. If this is true, the red planet may have been habitable but does not necessarily mean it was inhabited.  The new study shows that Methanogens, a type of organism that thrives in extreme environments here on Earth, may have thrived underground on Mars. There's a critical difference between ancient Mars and Earth regarding this research. On Earth, most hydrogen is tied up in water molecules, and very little is on its own. But on Mars, it was abundant in the planet's atmosphere.

Pretendian
➤SACHEEN LITTLEFEATHER’S SISTERS SAY SHE WASN’T NATIVE AMERICAN:
Three weeks after Sacheen Littlefeather, the actress and activist who declined Marlon Brando’s Oscar on his behalf in 1973, passed away, a column was published in the San Francisco Chronicle that questioned her Native American heritage. According to the author, Jacqueline Keeler, Littlefeather’s sisters say her Native American identity is a “lie.” One of her sisters, Trudy Orlandi, told Keeler, “My father was who he was. His family came from Mexico. And my dad was born in Oxnard.” However, Variety reports that other Native American writers and activists are denouncing Keeler for having a longstanding “vendetta” against “Pretendians.” Carly Button wrote on Twitter, “[Keeler’s] desire to weed out Pretendians has led to a violent vendetta against genuinely reconnecting Natives who don’t meet colonial standards.” She added, “I’m Yaqui and I believe Sacheen.

🎥‘BLACK ADAM’ SOARS TO $67 MILLION AT THE DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE:  Black Adam saw a successful opening weekend, bringing in a total of $67 million domestically. Deadline reports that this is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s best domestic opening for a film that features him as the solo star. Hiram Garcia, a Black Adam producer and President of Production for Johnson’s Seven Bucks said in a statement, “The success of Black Adam is truly a dream come true. We’ve been working towards this family goal here at Seven Bucks for 15 years, applying every bit of experience we’ve acquired over the years to help bring this project to life. So, to be here now seeing how our hard work has been paid off with the biggest opening of our careers is an incredible feeling.”  Box Office Numbers from Friday (October 21st) through Sunday (October 23rd):

1. Black Adam, $67 million
2. Ticket to Paradise, $16.34 million
3. Smile, $8.35 million
4. Halloween Ends, $8 million
5. Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, $4.2 million
6. The Woman King, $1.9 million
7. Terrifier 2, $1.89 million
8. Don’t Worry Darling, $880,000
9. Amsterdam, $818,000
10. Triangle of Sadness, $600,000

🙋STUDY: FAKING A SMILE MAY HELP YOU ACTUALLY BE HAPPY: Fake it 'til you make it? A Stanford study shows the facial feedback hypothesis may carry some weight...meaning smiling could help improve your mood. Researchers asked 3,900 participants to mimic smiling or remain neutral while looking at blank screens or cheerful images, like puppies or kittens. Results found an increase in happiness when participants mimicked smiles. The effect is not strong enough to overcome depression, but does suggest a link between expression and emotion. "We experience emotion so often that we forget to marvel at just how incredible this ability is," scientist Nicholas Coles said.

⚾MLB SCORES:
  • Houston Astros 6 vs New York Yankees 5
  • Philadelphia Phillies 4 San Diego Padres 3

HOUSTON HEADS BACK TO THE WORLD SERIES AFTER SWEEPING THE NEW YORK YANKEES: The Houston Astros swept the New York Yankees on Sunday night, winning Game 4 with a 6-5 score punching their ticket to the fall classic. Houston outscored the Yankees 18-9 in four games, they will now face the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series, game 1 scheduled for Friday, Oct. 28 in Houston.


PHILLIES ADVANCE TO THE FALL CLASSIC AFTER DRAMATIC HOMER BY BRYCE HARPER: The Philadelphia Phillies did not want to head back to San Diego and Bryce Harper made sure the Phillies closed out the San Diego Padres on Sunday. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the defending NL MVP hit what turned out to be the series sealing, 2-run home run to send the Philadelphia Phillies to their first World Series since 2009 with the final score of 4-3.


🏈NFL SCORES:
  • Cincinnati Bengals 35 Atlanta Falcons 17
  • Dallas Cowboys 24 Detroit Lions 6
  • Tennessee Titans 19 Indianapolis Colts 10
  • Washington Commanders 23 Green Bay Packers 21
  • Crolina Panthers 21  Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3
  • New York Giants 23  Jacksonville Jaguars 17
  • Baltimore Ravens 23 Cleveland Browns 20
  • New York Jets 16  Denver Broncos 9
  • Las Vegas Raiders 38  Houston Texans 20
  • Seattle Seahawks 37  Los Angeles Chargers 23
  • Kansas City Chiefs 44  San Francisco 49ers 23
  • Miami Dolphins 16  Pittsburgh Steelers 10
🏈MARSHAWN LYNCH CURES ON LIVE TV TWICE IN A MATTER OF SECONDS: Former Seattle Seahawks running back, Marshawn Lynch, had another entertaining interview over the weekend on ESPN. During the Cal-Washington broadcast on Saturday, ESPN's Tiffany Blackmon was interviewing Lynch and Justin Forsett when Lynch said, "I’m from the Bay Area, but when I look around the stands and I see these motherf*****s … I mean, these stands weren't full like when we were here, that s*** kind of have me on tilt." Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett were in attendance because they, along with eight other members, were inducted into the Cal Athletics Hall of Fame.

⚾KENLEY JANSEN OPEN TO SIGN A DODGERS CONTRACT IN 2022 MLB FREE AGENCY: Kenley Jansen will be a free agent this offseason after signing a one year deal with the Atlanta Braves. Jansen was recently spotted in Los Angeles where told TMZ Sports he would consider re-signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers saying, "We'll see what's out there." Jansen said it will come down to whatever is the best decision for his family.

🏀NBA COMMISSIONER SAYS NBA IS MONITORING TANKING ISSUE: NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently had a speaking engagement with employees of the Phoenix Suns. Silver said the league has "put teams on notice" and will pay "particular attention" to tanking this season. He also apologized for himself as well at the NBA letting them down as far as punishing Robert Sarver for years of unacceptable behavior saying to Suns employees, "To the extent that you feel let down by the league, I apologize. I take responsibility for that."

The commissioner said the league is, overall, doing well and that there is no shortage of strong candidates for new teams. Las Vegas and Seattle are considered likely candidates for new NBA teams should the league expand.

🏈MAGIC JOHNSON EYES RAIDERS OWNERSHIP: According to reports, NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson is deep in negotiations to purchase a stake in the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders. If the deal closes, it could potentially set a record for sports franchise deals. Since the Raiders moved to Las Vegas from Oakland their valuation has skyrocketed, going from $2.1 billion in 2015 to $5.1 billion this year, according to Forbes.



No comments:

Post a Comment