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Thursday, August 5, 2021

Wake-Up Call: NY Gov Cuomo Facing Impeachment


New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo has said he's not resigning after the results of an investigation announced Tuesday found that he sexually harassed 11 woman. So now he's facing an impeachment threat, and according to an Associated Press count Wednesday, a majority of New York State Assembly members support beginning impeachment hearings if Cuomo doesn't step down, 86 of the 150 members. Among the many state and national Democratic leaders calling for Cuomo to resign is New York Democratic Party chairperson Jay Jacobs, who's been one of his closest allies. Jacobs told Spectrum News he's tried persuading Cuomo to step down, but, quote, "wasn’t making headway." Meanwhile, district attorneys in Manhattan, Westchester and Nassau counties and the capital of Albany have asked for investigative materials from the inquiry, meaning Cuomo could be facing legal jeopardy.

➤ADMIN. TO REQUIRE FOREIGN VISITORS TO U.S. TO BE VACCINATED: The administration is beginning the process to require that nearly all foreign visitors to the U.S. be vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to reports yesterday. The eventual requirement would be part of easing travel restrictions to the U.S., although the timeline has yet to be determined. There are strict restrictions on travel to the U.S. due to the pandemic, including that non-U.S. residents who've been to China, the E.U. area, the U.K., Ireland, Brazil, South Africa and India in the previous 14 days are banned. Everyone allowed in must show proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken within three days of travel.

Tampa Bay Times Headline 8/5/21


 

➤DEFENSE SECRETARY TO ANNOUNCE MANDATORY VACCINE FOR MILITARY: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to announce a mandatory vaccine policy Friday for active-duty military forces, the New York Times first reported Wednesday. Just under two-thirds -- 64 percent -- of active-duty forces are already fully vaccinated.

➤LANDLORDS, REAL ESTATE COMPANIES CHALLENGE EVICTION MORATORIUM IN COURT: One day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended the pandemic eviction moratorium after it expired over the weekend, a group of landlords and real estate companies yesterday asked a federal judge to suspend it. The new moratorium applies to areas with high or substantial Covid-19 transmission, which covers 90 percent of the population who are renters. The legal challenge says the moratorium amounts to an extension of the, quote, "same unlawful ban," and says the CDC acted to "relieve political pressure" on the White House and to buy more time with delays in litigation challenging the extension. President Biden himself said Tuesday that extension may not pass legal muster.

➤AT LEAST 10 KILLED IN CRASH OF VAN PACKED WITH MIGRANTS: At least 10 people were killed and 20 others injured, all of them seriously to critically, in a crash of a van in South Texas yesterday afternoon that was packed with 29 people believed to be migrants. Sergeant Nathan Brandley of the Texas Department of Public Safety said the van, which was designed to hold 15 passengers, was speeding on a remote highway and the driver lost control as he tried to veer off onto another road. The van wasn't being chased.

➤IT LOOKS LIKE NEW 'JEOPARDY' HOST WILL BE SHOWS' EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:  After all the celebrities who've had guest hosting stints on Jeopardy! since the death of longtime host Alex Trebek last November, it looks like the new host is going to be someone largely unknown until his own guest hosting stint, the show's executive producer Mike Richards. Variety reported that Richards is in advanced negotiations for the job, while Deadline said an announcement is expected in the next few days. Richards has produced other game shows, including The Price Is Right, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and Let's Make a Deal, and actually has hosting experience, including for the game shows Divided and The Pyramid and reality shows including High School Reunion and Beauty and the Geek. According to reports, execs were impressed by Richards' command of the game and his on-air personality. Others who've reportedly been at the top of the list were Big Bang Theory actress Mayim Bialik and former Jeopardy! contestant Buzzy Cohen. As for who the show's fans want, a recent New York Post poll had all-time great contestant Ken Jennings in first place, but Richards was second -- so a lot of fans liked what they saw with him too.


➤STUDY..WOMEN BECOME MORE SATISFIED WITH THEIR FIGURES FROM AGE 60 ONWARDS:  It seems women actually get more satisfied with their bodies as they age. Researchers in New Zealand assessed the body satisfaction of about 15,000 adults over the course of six years. They found body satisfaction increased over time for both men and women, and that women specifically started to love their body around the age of 60, while men started to love their bodies between the ages of 59 and 64. It’s thought that the newfound appreciation for how we look is due to health becoming more important than physical appearance. Researchers add that for women, pregnancy and postpartum periods of time that typically lead to physiological changes that can negatively affect body images, as these times are “inconsistent with rigid beauty ideals.” But they also found that body dissatisfaction is likely less severe now than it was several generations ago.

➤BILL GATES SAYS RELATIONSHIP WITH JEFFREY EPSTEIN WAS 'HUGE MISTAKE': Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said in a CNN interview last night (August 4th) that his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was a "huge mistake." The multimillionaire financier was convicted of sex crimes and fatally hung himself in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges involving underage girls. According to a 2019 New York Times report, the relationship between Gates and Epstein began in 2011, after Epstein had already been convicted of sex crimes. Gates told CNN's Anderson Cooper, "I had several dinners with him, hoping that what he said about getting billions of philanthropy for global health, through contacts that he had, might emerge. When it looked like that wasn’t a real thing, that relationship ended. But it was a huge mistake to spend time with him, to give him the credibility of being there." The Gates Foundation is one of the largest private charitable foundations in the world.

➤FORECAST UPDATED FOR BUSIER HURRICANE SEASON: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) yesterday updated its outlook for the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season and predicted it will be busier than what they forecasted in May. The NOAA is now predicting there will be 15 to 21 named storms instead of the 13 to 20 in its May forecast, and the number of hurricanes will be seven to 10 instead of six to 10. It said the chance for an above average hurricane season increased from 60 percent to 65 percent. Hurricane season, which began June 1st, runs through the end of November, with its peak from mid-August to mid-October.

➤OBAMA'S 60TH BIRTHDAY WILL NOW JUST BE FOR FAMILY AND CLOSE FRIENDS: The plans for a big 60th birthday celebration for former President Barack Obama with hundreds of guests has been called off because of the coronavirus surge due to the delta variant, and now only family and close friends will attend. The bash was set to be held at the Obamas' oceanfront Martha's Vineyard home. Guests were requested to be vaccinated and were to be tested, and the party was to be held outdoors. Obama spokesperson Hannah Hankins said in a statement, "This outdoor event was planned months ago in accordance with all public health guidelines and with Covid safeguards in place. Due to the new spread of the delta variant over the past week, the President and Mrs. Obama have decided to significantly scale back the event to include only family and close friends."

➤THE HOTTEST KIND OF MAN YOU CAN BE RIGHT NOW IS A ‘SUBMISSIVE’ AND ‘BREEDABLE’ ONE:  The internet has declared that the hottest men are those who are “submissive and breedable.” Users on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram are using the phrase to compliment men (often cis-men) they find attractive, and it’s happening so often that men are now co-opting the phrase to describe themselves. The phrase originated on a “copypasta” that circulated on TikTok back in March, but sex coach Gigi Engle says, “Saying someone looks ‘submissive and breedable’ is a bit of a subversive take on the reclamation of female sexual domination.” She adds that the phrase is "part of a sub/dom roleplay at its roots.” She also adds, “It’s submissive language that subverts misogynistic language that’s been geared towards cis-women in the past, now towards a cis-male person (or any male person, really.) […] Also, women aren’t ‘supposed’ to say such objectifying things—we’re meant to look pretty and be objectified, so I’d say there’s a lot of power grabbing in that respect as well.” Still, there are some concerns from other experts about misuse of the phrase—including weaponizing it for sexual harassment. But overall, it’s currently being used in a playful, lighthearted way to degrade oneself or a man one finds attractive.

➤TOKYO OLYMPICS Highlights:

  • U.S. Men's Basketball Team Advance to Gold Medal Game - The U.S. men's basketball team will play in the gold medal game after beating Australia 97-78. They'll be trying for a fourth consecutive Olympics gold against the winner of the second semifinal between France and Slovenia.
  • Canada's De Grasse Wins 200 Meters, Bednarek of U.S. Gets Silver - Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse won gold in the men's 200 meters, the first Canadian to win the race in the Olympics since 1928. Americans Kenny Bednarek and reigning world champion Noah Lyles won silver and bronze, respectively.
  • Jamaica's Parchment Wins 110-Meter Hurdles, Holloway of U.S. Take Silver: Jamaica's Hansle Parchment won gold in the 110-meter men's hurdles, upsetting favorite and world champion Grant Holloway of the U.S., who took silver. Jamaican Ronald Levy won bronze.
  • American Crouser Wins Shot Put Gold - American Ryan Crouser won the gold medal in the men's shot put, breaking his own Olympic record on his last attempt at 23.30 meters, repeating as Olympic champion after he also won gold in 2016 in Rio. His is the first men's track and field goal for the U.S. in Tokyo. American teammate Joe Kovacs won silver and New Zealand's Tom Walsh earned bronze.
  • U.S. Women to Play for Beach Volleyball Gold - The U.S. women's team of Alix Klineman and April Ross will play for the beach volleyball gold after beating Joana Heidrich and Anouk Verge-Depre of Switzerland 21-12, 21-11 to advance. They will play Australia's Mariafe Artacho and Taliqua Clancy in the gold medal match.
  • American Harrison Wins Inaugural Women's Canoe Sprint - American Nevin Harrison won gold in the women's canoe 200 sprint in the event's Olympic debut. Canada's Laurence Vincent Lapointe won silver and Liudmyla Luzan of Ukraine took bronze.
  • U.S. Fails to Advance to Men's 4x100-Meter Relay Final: The U.S. team failed to advance to the men's 4x100-Meter relay final in their qualifying race. Their chances were dashed by a botched baton hand-off between Fred Kerley and Ronnie Baker and they finished in sixth place.
  • U.S. BMX Rider Fields Released from Hospital Five Days After Race Crash: American BMX rider Connor Fields was released from a Tokyo hospital Thursday, five days after a crash in his semifinal race. Among his injuries were a brain bleed, broken ribs and a collapsed lung. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee's chief medical officer said Fields will be able to return home in the coming days to begin rehab.
MEDAL COUNT: (As of 3:30 a.m. ET) - The U.S. is in first place with 84 medals, followed by China with 71 and the Russian Olympic Committee with 53. In the gold medal count, China leads with 32, the U.S. is second with 27, and Japan is third with 21.  ESPN'S MEDAL TRACKER: https://es.pn/3hZWIw0

OTHER SPORTS:

🏈NFL KICKING OFF PRESEASON WITH HALL OF FAME GAME: The NFL will be kicking off its preseason tonight with the Hall of Fame game between the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers. The game is being played as part of Hall of Fame enshrinement weekend, with both the 2021 and 2020 classes to be enshrined at Canton, Ohio's Pro Football Hall of Fame. Two years of classes are being enshrined because it was postponed last year due to the pandemic.

➤SENATOR ASKS JUSTICE DEPT. TO INVESTIGATE POSSIBLE ESPN ROLE IN TEXAS, OKLAHOMA MOVE TO SEC: Republican Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas has asked the Justice Department to investigate whether ESPN played a role in the stunning decision by Texas and Oklahoma to move from the Big-12 to the SEC. In a letter Tuesday to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Marshall said, "I write today to ask the DOJ investigate ESPN's role in the potential destruction of the Big 12 conference and if any anti-competitive or illegal behavior occurred relating to manipulating the conference change or ESPN's contractual television rights." The Big-12 has accused ESPN of involvement and issued a cease and desist letter to the sports network last week. ESPN has denied any wrongdoing.

⚾ANGELS' RENDON NEEDS HIS SURGERY, DONE FOR YEAR: Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon needs to have surgery on his right hip and is done for the year, the team announced yesterday. The 31-year-old had been on the injured list since July 6th with a hamstring strain, and also missed time with knee and groin injuries.

⚽U.K. POLICE ARREST 11 IN RACIAL ABUSE OF ENGLAND SOCCER PLAYERS AFTER EURO 2020 LOSS: British police said yesterday that 11 people had been arrested for the online racial abuse of three Black players -- Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka -- on England's national soccer team after their loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final. The three players missed penalty kicks in the shootout that decided the game last month. The U.K. Football Policing Unit said that of the 207 posts on social media identified as criminal, 123 accounts belong to people outside the U.K. A total of 34 accounts have been identified so far as being in the U.K. and 11 of those account holders were arrested.

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