Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Russia Says It Won't Escalate Ukraine Crisis

One day after meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that Putin told him Russia won't escalate the Ukraine crisis further. Macron made the remarks during a news conference in Ukraine after meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Russia has massed more than 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine. However, the Kremlin denied reports that Macron and Putin had reached a deal on de-escalating the crisis, with a spokesman saying, "in the current situation, Moscow and Paris can't be reaching any deals." Macron also said Putin told him there won't be any Russian permanent military base or deployment in Belarus, where Russia sent a large number of troops for war games. The Russian spokesman said withdrawing the troops from Belarus after the war games had always been the plan.
 
➤HOUSE APPROVES BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION EASING BUDGET STRAIN ON POSTAL SERVICE: The House passed bipartisan legislation yesterday that would remove tough budget requirements on the Postal Service that have helped send it deeply into debt. It will end the requirement imposed in 2006 that the Postal Service finance, in advance, health care benefits for current and retired workers for the next 75 years. The legislation would also require the that mail continue to be delivered six days a week, and that the Postal Service to set up an online dashboard searchable by zip code so people can see how long it takes to deliver mail and packages. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he’s planning a Senate vote before a recess that starts after next week.

➤MCCONNELL CRITICIZES RNC FOR CENSURING TWO HOUSE REPUBLICANS, CALLS JAN. 6 'VIOLENT INSURRECTION': Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell yesterday criticized the Republican National Committee (RNC) for censuring the two Republicans on the House committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, and called the events of January 6th a "violent insurrection." The RNC took a vote to approve censuring the two GOP lawmakers at the party's winter meeting last Friday. The resolution accused the House committee of leading a, quote, "persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse," which has led to backlash, including from some Republican lawmakers. McConnell said yesterday, "It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election from one administration to the next." He also said it's, quote, "not the job of the RNC" to be "singling out members of our party who may have different views than the majority. However, McConnell said he still has confidence in RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel.


➤SUSPECT ARRESTED IN WASHINGTON SUPERMARKET SHOOTING THAT KILLED ONE: The 39-year-old man suspected of opening fire inside a Washington state supermarket Monday, killing one person and critically injuring another, had his first court appearance Tuesday after being caught and arrested Monday night in a vehicle on I-90. Court documents said that Aaron Christopher Kelly was a suspected shoplifter who appeared to be dealing with mental illness. His former roommate told police Kelly has, quote, "been spiraling mentally and is very paranoid." He's charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder and bail was set at $1 million. He's accused of killing a 38-year-old customer, Justin Krumbah, at the Fred Meyer supermarket in Richland, and wounding 56-year-old employee Mark A. Hill, who remains in critical condition.

NY Post photo 2/9/22
➤NYC COUPLE ARRESTED IN ALLEGED LAUNDERING OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN CRYPTOCURRENCY: The Justice Department announced yesterday that a New York City couple were arrested that morning in an alleged conspiracy to launder billions of dollars in stolen cryptocurrency, and said it had seized more than $3.6 billion, its largest-ever financial seizure. The cryptocurrency was stolen from a 2016 hack of virtual currency exchange Bitfinex. Ilya "Dutch" Lichtenstein, a 34-year-old citizen of Russia and the U.S., and his 31-year-old wife, Heather Morgan, are accused of using sophisticated techniques to launder the stolen cryptocurrency and conceal the transactions. They are not charged in the hack itself.


➤VP HARRIS' HUSBAND REMOVED FROM BLACK HISTORY EVENT AFTER BOMB THREAT: Vice President Kamala Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, was removed from a Black History Month event at a Washington, D.C., high school by Secret Service agents yesterday after a bomb threat. Emhoff was at Dunbar High School and was in the school's museum for a few minutes when one of the agents on his security detail said, "We have to go," and hustled him out to his car and they drove off. An announcement then instructed students and teachers to leave the building. The Secret Service said they didn't have any information to indicate the threat was targeted at Emhoff. No bomb was found after a search by police.

🚘HYUNDAI, KIA TELLING OWNERS OF RECALLED CARS TO PARK THEM OUTSIDE DUE TO FIRE RISK: Hyundai and Kia are telling the owners of nearly 485,000 vehicles in the U.S. that they've recalled to park them outside until repairs are made because they can catch fire even if the engine is turned off. The issue is contamination in the antilock brake control module that can cause an electrical short, increasing the risk of fire. There have been 11 reported fires in the U.S., but no injuries, according to the automakers. The vehicles affected are: certain Kia Sportage SUVs from 2014 through 2016, and the 2016 through 2018 K900 sedan; certain Hyundai 2016 through 2018 Santa Fe SUVs, 2017 and 2018 Santa Fe Sports, the 2019 Santa Fe XL and 2014 and 2015 Tucson SUVs.

➤POPE EMERITUS BENEDICT ASKS FOR FORGIVENESS IN HANDLING OF CLERGY SEX ABUSE, BUT DENIES WRONGDOING: Pope Emeritus Benedict the 16th asked forgiveness Tuesday for any, quote, "grievous faults" in his handling of clergy sex abuse cases, but he denied any wrongdoing. The letter from Benedict came in response to a recent independent report in Germany that criticized his actions in four cases while he was archbishop of Munich. It accused him of misconduct for not restricting the ministry of the four priests even after they had been convicted.

➤IN RETURN TO JOBS, A HUGE GENDER GAP:  The pandemic really messed up jobs for Americans, and though January’s jobs report brought some hopeful news about employers adding over 400,000 new jobs last month, it seems the news is better for men than it is for women. A report that came out Friday (February 4th) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that more than one million men ages 20 and up either found a job or were actively looking for a job in January, while just 39,000 women in the same age group did the same. The National Women’s Law Center published a report on the data, and notes it’s likely due to the “uneven caregiving responsibilities men and women have taken on in the wake of the omicron variant which caused continued school and child care disruptions.” The lack of child care workers isn’t helping things either. In a December article, Politico also reported that women tend to be in jobs that are more prone to pandemic COVID restrictions (such as teaching and health care), which has led them having a harder time getting back into the 9-to-5 swing of things.


💘WHY SEX MAKES US MORE LIKELY TO SPILL OUR SECRETS:  There’s a link between being turned on sexually and wanting to spill your secrets. A 2017 study found that simply engaging with erotic content before interacting with another person is enough to make you leak your secrets. Scientists say this likely happens due to a combination of emotional, psychological, and physiological factors, and there are some specific things that happen in the brain that could help explain why. Clinical sexologist Lucy Rowett says for one thing, the brain releases oxytocin, the “love hormone,” which aids in pair-bonding. The release of neurochemicals dopamine and norepinephrine contribute to feeling euphoric and giddy. So when you’re feeling good from all those hormones your guard drops. In addition, for some people, emotional closeness can turn them on, so Dr. Sarah Melancon explains, “Sexual feelings may increase the desire to feel emotionally intimate with someone, which may manifest in secret-sharing.” If you’re someone who tends to tell secrets to sexual partners, you may want to take time to consider why you’re doing so, as secret-sharing isn’t always a good thing.

➤AMERICAN GAMBLING ASSOCIATION PREDICTS A RECORD NUMBER OF AMERICANS WILL BET ON THE SUPER BOWL: How do you feel about gambling? The American Gaming Association (AGA) 31.5 million Americans will place bets on this year’s Super Bowl game, happening Sunday (February 13th). The group forecasts that over $7.6 billion will be wagered on the game. Those making bets include people making casual wagers with friends or relatives, people playing in office pools, wagers with licensed sportsbooks, and bets placed with illegal bookmakers. President and CEO of the AGA, Bill Miller, says, “Americans have never been more interested in legal sports wagering. The growth of legal options across the country not only protects fans and the integrity of games and bets, but also puts illegal operators on notice that their time is limited.” Since last year’s Super Bowl, 45 million additional people will be able to bet because their states have legalized sports betting since then: Arizona, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. If you think you have a gambling problem, you can get help by calling 1-800-GAMBLER.


🎿BEIJING WINTER OLYMPICS: Highlights:
  • Jacobellis Wins First Gold for U.S. in Snowboardcross - Lindsey Jacobellis won the first gold medal of the Olympics for the U.S., coming in first in the snowboardcross final. It came 16 years after Jacobellis blew a gold in the 2006 Turin Games when she pulled a showboat move on the final jump with a big lead and fell, and had to settle for silver.
  • U.S. Skier Shiffrin Out Early in Second Straight Race - U.S. skier Mikaela Shiffrin, who came into Beijing a favorite to medal in five events, was out early in her second straight race. After crashing 11 seconds into her giant slalom race two days earlier, Shiffrin skidded and missed a gate five seconds into her first run in the slalom race. She sat on the side of the slalom course with her head in her hands for several minutes afterward. In an emotional NBC interview, Shiffrin said of what's happened in her first two races, "It makes me second-guess the last 15 years, everything I thought I knew about my own skiing and slalom and racing mentality. Just processing a lot, for sure." Retired U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn, a three-time Olympic medalist, tweeted her support for Shiffrin.
  • Petra Vlhova of Slovakia won the slalom gold, Katharina Liensberger of Austria took silver and Wendy Holdener of Switzerland won bronze.
  • Shaun White Qualifies for Halfpipe Final After First Run Fall - U.S. snowboarder Shaun White, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, qualified for the halfpipe final in fourth place, recovering from a fall on his first run. White fell on his signature trick, the Double McTwist 1260, and was in 19th place after his first run. But he nailed his second one, and since the best score counts, he's heading to the final in fourth.
  • American Stevenson Wins Silver in Men's Freestyle Skiing Big Air - American Colby Stevenson won the silver medal in the Olympics' first men's freestyle skiing big air event. Norway's Birk Ruud won gold and Sweden's Henrik Harlaut took bronze.
  • American Diggins Wins Bronze in Cross-Country Skiing Sprint - Jessie Diggins of the U.S. won bronze in the cross-country skiing sprint, the first American woman to win an individual Olympics medal in cross-country skiing. Sweden's Jonna Sundling won gold and teammate Maja Dahlqvist took the silver.
  • Germany's Geisenberger First Woman to Win Luge Gold in Three Olympics - Germany's Natalie Geisenberger won gold in the women's luge, becoming the first woman to earn gold in the singles event in three Olympics, after also coming in first in 2014 and 2018.
  • Five Female Ski Jumpers Disqualified Over Uniforms - Five female ski jumpers were disqualified from the mixed team final over their uniforms, which were ruled to be too large, potentially giving them an advantage. There were two women disqualified from Norway, and one each from Japan, Austria and Germany.
MEDAL COUNT: (As of 4:00 a.m. ET) - The Russian Olympic Committee is in first place with 10 medals, followed by Norway with nine and Austria with eight. In the gold medal count, Norway and Sweden both have four, and the Netherlands, Germany and China all have three. The U.S. has seven medals overall, one gold, five silver and one bronze. ESPN MEDAL TRACKER

OTHER SPORTS:

🏀UNRANKED ARKANSAS UPSETS NUMBER 1 AUBURN 80-76 IN OT: The unranked Arkansas men's basketball team upset Number 1 Auburn 80-76 in overtime last night, doing it at home. JD Notae scored 28 points for Arkansas, which made 11 of 14 free throws in the final 1:52 of overtime. Arkansas students stormed the court after the win, which also snapped Auburn's 19-game win streak. It was the first time Arkansas had beaten a Number 1-ranked team since 1984 against North Carolina.


⚾DODGERS BAUER WON'T FACE CHARGES RELATED TO SEX ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS: The L.A. County District Attorney's office said Tuesday that it will not bring charges against L.A. Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer related to sexual assault allegations made against him by a 27-year-old woman last year. The D.A.'s office said they are "unable to prove the relevant charges beyond a reasonable doubt." Bauer was on administrative leave for the last three months of the season following the allegations, and MLB could still impose a suspension. MLB said their investigation is ongoing and the Dodgers said they wouldn't comment until that is completed. After the DA's decision was announced, Bauer posted a video on YouTube in which he denied the woman's allegations, which included that he choked her unconscious during two sexual encounters, punched her in the face and genitals, and had anal sex with her while she was unconscious. He acknowledged having rough sex with the woman, but said it was consensual and, quote, the disturbing acts and conduct that she described simply did not occur." AP said the woman’s attorney didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.



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