President Biden again warned Americans still in Ukraine that they should leave as soon as possible, in an interview yesterday with NBC News. He said, "It's not like we’re dealing with a terrorist organization. We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. It’s a very different situation and things could go crazy quickly." He also again said he wouldn't send U.S. troops to Ukraine, responding when asked if there were any scenarios where he might do it to rescue Americans, saying, "There’s not. That’s a world war when Americans and Russia start shooting at one another." There are very high tensions about the possibility of a Russian invasion of Ukraine as Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops on its border with that country.
Analysis: Biden’s approval rating continues to erode, including with vital parts of his base https://t.co/Z4X1jfsFUd
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 11, 2022
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| NY Post 2/11/22 |
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“I’m going to work like the devil to bring gas prices down,” President Biden said Thursday assuring that his administration will lower health care costs, including prescription drug costs, for American families. pic.twitter.com/5ISJwFzasX
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 11, 2022
🚚U.S. URGES CANADA TO USE FEDERAL POWERS TO END TRUCK BLOCKADE OF KEY BRIDGE: The U.S. urged the Canadian government yesterday to use its federal powers to end the truck blockade of a key bridge by Canadians protesting Covid-19 mandates and restrictions in their country. The Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit was blocked for a fourth straight day by the truckers, and it's disrupting the flow of auto parts and other products between the U.S. and Canada, leading some auto plants on both sides of the border to close down or cut shifts. The bridge carries 25 percent of all trade between the two countries. Canada's Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Royal Canadian Mounted Police reinforcements were being sent to Windsor, Ottawa and Coutts, Alberta, where another border blockade is happening. Meanwhile, Windsor's mayor announced the city will seek a court injunction to end the occupation.
A bumper-to-bumper truck blockade by Canadians protesting the country’s COVID-19 restrictions is in its fourth day. https://t.co/lwNNO3JzuT
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 10, 2022
➤100TH CAPITOL RIOTER SENTENCED, FIFTH FOR ASSAULTING POLICE: A 52-year-old military veteran from Seattle who punched two police officers in the head during the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol was sentenced to six months in prison yesterday, becoming at least the 100th person sentenced after pleading guilty to a Capitol riot-related charge, according to the Associated Press. Mark Leffingwell is also the fifth person to be sentenced for assaulting police that day, with the others getting sentences ranging from 41 months to 63 months. More than 730 people have been charged overall and 210 of them have pled guilty, mostly to misdemeanors with a maximum sentence of six months in prison.
➤BOMB THREATS AT D.C. HIGH SCHOOLS FOR THIRD DAY, DESPITE ARREST OF TEENAGER: There were bomb threats at high schools in Washington, D.C., for a third straight day Thursday, despite a teenager having been arrested for allegedly making some of the earlier threats. Five schools were evacuated and searched yesterday after getting phoned-in bomb threats, which came hours after the 16-year-old teenage boy was arrested. As with the previous threats, no bombs were found. The teen was charged with "terroristic threats." Police said that the fact that the bomb threats are continuing indicates multiple people are making them, including possibly copycats.
AUTOPSY..BOB SAGET HAD MULTIPLE SKULL FRACTURES PRIOR TO DEATH:
➤DOCTORS EXPLAIN WHAT TO DO—AND WHAT NOT TO DO—WHEN YOU HIT YOUR HEAD: Hitting your head can lead to an emergent situation. Emergency room physician Dr. Leana Wen explains, “When you hit your head, you could have bleeding in different ways. An epidural hematoma is a type of brain injury. You can also have a subdural hematoma, another possibility as well. A subdural hematoma is a very common hematoma. Both of these are when veins are ripped from a head injury that causes pooled blood to put pressure on the brain.” Wen says if you hit your head, your first step should be to tell someone, and to call your doctor if you’re particularly worried. If you’re an individual at higher risk—like if you’re taking a blood thinner, or if you’re older—you should be vigilant and seek medical attention if you hit your head. Symptoms you should look out for after hitting your head: losing consciousness (even briefly), forgetting the injury, any type of confusion, nausea, and vomiting. If you develop any sort of weakness or seizure-like activity you should go to an emergency room. Doctors recommend staying awake 2 to 3 hours after a head injury to make sure none of these symptoms present, but after that, your risk of any significant issue developing drops. Doctors also note that you don’t need to overreact every time you bump your head unless you have symptoms that worsen over time.
📺'DR. PHIL' REPORTEDLY A TOXIC WORK ENVIRONMENT: According to a BuzzFeed article published on Thursday, a dozen current and former employees of the Dr. Phil show say that the show fostered a toxic environment.
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| Dr. Phil |
Although none of the people BuzzFeed News spoke with witnessed Phil McGraw engage in toxic workplace behaviors, two current and 10 former employees said that it was “common to be screamed at and berated by executive producer Carla Pennington and other senior-level staffers.”
According to the report, attorneys for McGraw and Pennington "categorically denied every allegation made in this story, insisting that Dr. Phil in no way fosters racism, inappropriate interactions with guests, bullying and harassment, or any other unprofessional behavior."
H. Patrick Morris, an attorney for the 71-year-old talk show host, said in a statement to E! News, "BuzzFeed was offered dozens of current and former staff to talk to but when the reporter started hearing the truth which ruined their salacious narrative they declined. Dr. Phil takes every guest and their circumstances very seriously and spends enormous amounts of time preparing for his time with them, including consulting with world class experts."
WHERE: SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, home of the Rams as well as the L.A. Chargers. This is the second year in a row that one of the teams is playing in their home stadium, after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers became the first last year, when they beat the Kansas City Chiefs for the championship. It's the first Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium, which opened in 2020, and the first in the Los Angeles area since Super Bowl 27 in 1993.
Covid: Unlike last year, there won't be any attendance limits because of the pandemic. However, fans will have to provide proof of Covid-19 vaccination or a negative PCR test taken within 48 hours, or a negative antigen rapid test taken within 24 hours. Additionally, masks will be required, except while actively eating or drinking, and every fan will be given a KN95 mask.
WHEN AND HOW TO WATCH: NBC will be airing the big game, and their broadcast will include hours of pre-game coverage before getting to the main event, with kickoff at 6:30 p.m. E.T. The game will be streamed on NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and NBC's streaming service, Peacock. However, you may have to link your cable or streaming provider to gain access on NBC websites, and for Peacock, you need to sign up for its Premium plan at $4.99 a month
THE TEAMS:
Rams: This will be the fifth Super Bowl for the Rams, who've only won one championship, beating the Tennessee Titans at the end of the 1999 season, when they were based in St. Louis. It will be the first Super Bowl appearance for quarterback Matthew Stafford, who's in his first year with the Rams. Until this season, Stafford had never even had a playoff win in his 12 previous seasons, all of them with the Detroit Lions. A key weapon for the Rams will be wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who this season became the fourth NFL player and first since 2005 to have the receiving triple crown by leading the league in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.
Bengals: The Bengals will be trying to win their first Super Bowl in their third appearance in the championship game. They were last in the Super Bowl in January 1989, losing to the San Francisco 49ers. Until this year, the Bengals had not won a playoff game since the 1990 season, and had a league-worst 2–14 record just two seasons ago. Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow will be making his first Super Bowl appearance in just his second year in the NFL. One of the Bengals' key players will be wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, who reunited with Burrow this season after being his teammate at LSU, and had the most receiving yards for a rookie in the Super Bowl era.
ENTERTAINMENT: Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige will perform during the halftime show. Country music's Mickey Guyton will sing the National Anthem, and "America the Beautiful" will be performed by R&B singer Jhené Aiko.
COMMERCIALS: The commercials have become part of the Super Bowl experience, with advertisers ramping up their creativity for the game's huge national audience. NBC hasn't said how much ads are costing this year, but a report in September, Dan Lovinger of NBC Sports Group cited a price of around $6.5 million, which would be a significant jump from the previous year's $5.5 million. Below is a look at a few of the ads that have already been released.
Hearing to Decide if Russian Figure Skater Can Compete After Positive Drug Test - A hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport will determine whether 15-year-old Russian figure skating phenom Kamila Valieva can compete in the women's event next week, where she's heavily favored to win gold, after she tested positive for a banned heart drug six weeks ago at the Russian Figure Skating Championships. The International Olympic Committee is appealing to the Court to reinstate the provisional suspension of Valieva, which was imposed by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency after the positive result was returned this past Tuesday, and then lifted by the same agency, which would allow her to compete. Meanwhile, the Russian Olympic Committee said it would fight to keep the gold medal won days ago by a team that include Valieva, a process that could take months. If the Russian team is disqualified, the U.S., which won silver, would be awarded the gold.
- Shaun White Finishes Fourth in Halfpipe in Final Olympics - American snowboarding legend Shaun White finished just out of the medals in fourth place in the halfpipe, in what is his final Olympics and the close of his competitive career. Ayumu Hirano of Japan won the gold. The best of the 35-year-old White's three runs was his second, and he fell on the final run, the last of his career. An emotional White said after the event, "I just want to thank everyone for watching. Everyone at home, thank you. Snowboarding, thank you. It's been the love of my life." Among all his accomplishments, White won three gold medals in five Olympics.
- U.S. Skier Mikaela Shiffrin Finishes Ninth in Super-G - After being eliminated within seconds in her first two races in Beijing, U.S. skier Mikaela Shiffrin finished the super-G yesterday, but finished out of the medals in ninth place. The two-time Olympic gold medalist said afterward, "I didn’t think there was a very big chance to come in and win, or even medal, in this race. . . . But I also did get to the finish and that’s really nice for my heart to know." She also thanked everyone for all the support she'd gotten since her disqualifications in the giant slalom and slalom, which are usually her best events. Winning the super-G yesterday was Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland.
- U.S. Wins Gold in Mixed Team Aerials in Its Olympic Debut - The U.S. won gold in mixed team aerials in the freestyle skiing event's Olympic debut. The team of two men and one woman, Christopher Lillis, Justin Schoenefeld and Ashley Caldwell, beat out the Chinese team for the win. Canada won bronze.
- U.S. Women's Hockey Team Beat Czechs in Quarterfinals - The defending Olympic champion U.S. women's hockey team beat the Czech Republic 4-1 in their quarterfinal match.
- U.S. Men's Hockey Team Beats China in First Game - The U.S. men's hockey team shut out host nation China 8-0 in the American men's first game in Beijing. Sean Farrell had a hat trick for the U.S. The U.S. team is made up mostly of NCAA players, with the NHL announcing in December that it wouldn't send players because the regular-season season schedule had been too disrupted by increasing Covid cases and games postponed as a result.
OTHER SPORTS:
🏈AARON RODGERS WINS FOURTH NFL MVP AWARD: Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers won his fourth NFL MVP award last night, getting 39 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL. Only retired former quarterback Peyton Manning is ahead of Rodgers with five MVPs. Rodgers said as he got the award, "Being a four-time MVP is crazy. “They’re all different. They’ve all unique in their own ways and this one feels the sweetest." Rodgers didn't indicate what his future plans are and said no announcement is imminent.
🏀76ERS TRADE SIMMONS TO NETS FOR HARDEN: Ben Simmons finally got what he wanted, to be traded away from the Philadelphia 76ers, with Philly trading him to the Brooklyn Nets yesterday (February 10th) for star James Harden. The 76ers also sent guard Seth Curry, center Andre Drummond, a 2022 first-round draft pick and a 2027 first-round pick to Brooklyn, and the Nets included Paul Millsap with Harden. Simmons didn't play this season for the 76ers in the wake of a trade demand.
🏀MAVERICKS TRADE PORZINGIS TO WIZARDS: The Dallas Mavericks traded Kristaps Porzingis and a second-round draft pick to the Washington Wizards yesterday (February 10th) for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans. Washington also traded center Montrezl Harrell to the Charlotte Hornets for Vernon Carey Jr. and Ish Smith.
⚾MLB TO HAVE UNIVERSAL DESIGNED HITTER: MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced yesterday (February 10th) that there will be a universal designated hitter starting in the upcoming season, meaning the DH is coming to the National League. He also said that a draft lottery will be added as a way to prevent tanking. Manfred's announcement comes as MLB and the players' union are set to have a negotiating session Saturday after an 11-day break. The players have been locked out by the league since December 1st.
🏀LEBRON, DURANT PICKS TEAMS FOR ALL-STAR GAME: LeBron James and Kevin Durant, the NBA All-Star Game captains, picked their team members during the live selection show last night on TNT. James had more all-star votes than Durant, so he chose first, picking the Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Durant then chose the Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid with his first pick. Team members for the February 20th game were chosen by James and Duran from 22 players who were voted on by fans, media members and current players. See full rosters here.
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