Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Wake-Up Call: U-S Can't Verify Russian 'Pullback'


There were some potential signs that Russia might not invade Ukraine for a second day Tuesday, with President Vladimir Putin saying he welcomed talks with the West about security and the Russian military reporting pulling back some of the 150,000 troops that it has massed on Ukraine's borders. But the U.S. and other Western nations remained skeptical, with President Biden saying Washington hadn't verified Russia's claim of pulling back troops, stating, "Indeed, our analysts indicate that they remain very much in a threatening position," while also saying the U.S. would continue to give diplomacy, quote, "every chance." Biden stated, "Two paths are still open. But let there be no doubt: If Russia commits this breach by invading Ukraine, responsible nations around the world will not hesitate to respond." Biden also warned that if Russia does invade, the blowback from the promised very tough sanctions on Russia by the West would likely significantly affect the U.S. economy, saying, "The American people understand that defending democracy and liberty is never without cost. I will not pretend this will be painless." But he said the administration was trying to ready for potential energy supply issues by working with energy producers and shippers on contingency plans.


➤FAMILIES OF SANDY HOOK VICTIMS SETTLE WITH GUNMAKER REMINGTON FOR $73 MILLION: The families of nine of the 26 victims of the 2012's Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting yesterday announced a $73 million settlement of their lawsuit against Remington, the maker of the Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle used by Adam Lanza to kill 20 first-graders and six educators. The lawsuit focused on how Remington marketed the rifle, with the families saying they were trying to force gunmakers to be more responsible with their products and how they market them. They charged advertising for the rifle targeted younger, at-risk males in ads and product placement in violent video games.

 
➤COVID CASES DOWN 44 PERCENT FROM LAST WEEK, DEATHS STILL HIGH: The number of new Covid-19 cases in the U.S. dropped 44 percent from last week, CNN reported yesterday, citing data from Johns Hopkins University, and are now less than one-fifth their peak a month ago. Covid hospitalizations are also down, falling 23 percent from last week. But deaths are still high, with more than 2,000 people dying in the U.S. from Covid every day, with an average of some 2,300 deaths daily over the past week. CNN notes that since Covid deaths often happen weeks after someone is infected, they are a lagging indicator.

➤HONDURAS ARRESTS FORMER PRESIDENT HERNANDEZ AT U.S. REQUEST: Police in Honduras arrested former President Juan Orlando Hernández at his home yesterday after a request from the U.S., which wants to extradite him to face drug trafficking and weapons charges. U.S. prosecutors in New York implicated Hernandez as a co-conspirator repeatedly during his brother Tony Hernandez's 2019 drug trafficking trial. Next up for Hernandez, who left office less than three weeks ago, would be an extradition hearing.

 
➤JAN. 6 COMMITTEE SUBPOENAS SIX AS GATHERS INFO ON PLAN TO SUBMIT FAKE ELECTORS: The House committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol subpoenaed six people yesterday, including former members of then-President Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign and state lawmakers, as it continues to gather information about the plan to submit fake electors for Trump from seven states that Joe Biden won. The committee is looking to get testimony and records from people it says had knowledge of or participated in efforts to send the false "alternate electors."


👑PRINCE ANDREW AGREES TO SETTLE GIUFFRE LAWSUIT: Britain's Prince Andrew has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought against him by Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexually abusing her when she was 17, saying she'd been trafficked to him by Jeffrey Epstein. A court filing yesterday revealed the news. Andrew has agreed to settle by making a substantial donation to the now 38-year-old Giuffre's charity and declaring he never meant to malign her character, acknowledging that she suffered as an abuse victim. However, Andrew does not admit guilt in the settlement, but does say he regrets his association with Epstein. The settlement avoids a trial hat would have brought further embarrassment to the British monarchy.

🐶DOGS CAN RECOGNIZE THEIR OWNER BY VOICE ALONE:  You know your dog has an amazing sense of smell, but it turns out they can recognize their owners by voice only. Researchers in Hungary found that dogs were able to differentiate their owner's voice from the voice of a stranger when both humans were hiding in the same room and reading out recipes in a neutral tone. Even when the stranger’s voice was altered to sound more like the owner’s voice, dogs could find their owner in 82 percent of cases. Researchers also took measures to make sure the dogs could not be helped out via their sense of smell. Lead study author Anna Gábor explains, “People mostly make use of three properties: pitch (higher or lower), noisiness (cleaner or harsher), and timbre (brighter or darker) to differentiate others. Dogs may make use of the same voice properties or different ones. If two voices differ in a property that matters for dogs, decisions should be easier.” The data showed if the owner’s and stranger’s voices differed more in pitch and noisiness it helped th.e dogs to recognize their owners voice, but timbre and other sound properties did not.



🧠OLDER ADULTS ACTUALLY HAVE TOO MUCH INFORMATION IN THEIR BRAINS, CREATING ‘CLUTTERED MEMORIES’:  If you’ve ever wondered if your brain could run out of space, the answer seems to be yes. Researchers in Canada found that older people have too much information in their heads, resulting in “cluttered memories.” The study defines “cluttered memory” as one that struggles to recall specific or detailed information and events in comparison to younger people. Study author, Dr. Lynn Hasher says, “These results may explain why wisdom and knowledge continue to grow as we age, even as memory declines.” The issue is that on a day-to-day basis, the human mind constantly blocks out unnecessary information, but as we grow older, the mind’s inhibition skills deteriorate, making it harder to focus on specific information. Researchers say this results in a “flood” or information and memory impairment among older adults. But a cluttered memory isn’t necessarily a bad thing—the data shows it is very likely to be a sign of wisdom and lots of knowledge.

Kamila Valieva


🎿BEIJING WINTER OLYMPICS:

Russian Figure Skater with Positive Drug Test First After Short Program - The Russian figure skater who's been allowed to compete despite a positive drug test from December, Kamila Valieva, finished first in the women's short program. Valieva is heavily-favored to win the gold. Fellow Russian Anna Shcherbakova came in second and Japan's Kaori Sakamoto was third. Alysa Liu was the highest-finishing American, in eighth place. The free skate will air Thursday night. Meanwhile, it was reported that in addition to the banned heart drug she tested positive for, Valieva also tested positive for two other drugs that are used to treat heart conditions, but which aren't banned. U.S. Anti-Doping Agency head Travis Tygart told CNN it, quote, "appears to be the case of a pretty deliberate attempt to use substances in order to enhance performance."
 
  • U.S. Men's Hockey Team Eliminated By Slovakia in Quarterfinals - The top-seeded U.S. men's hockey team was eliminated by Slovakia in their quarterfinal game, with the Americans blowing a late lead and then losing a shootout. The Slovakian team tied the game at 2-2 with just 43.7 seconds left in regulation, and then there were 10 scoreless minutes of overtime. Slovakia won as Peter Cehlarik scored the only goal of the shootout, in which each team got five chances.
  • Americans Win Gold and Silver in Men's Freeski Slopestyle - American freestyle skiers won both the gold and silver medals in the men's ski slopestyle, with Alex Hall finishing first for the gold and Nick Goepper in second for silver. Jesper Tjader of Norway took bronze.
  • French Skier Clement Noel Wins Men's Slalom - French skier Clement Noel won the men's slalom, giving France its first Alpine gold in Beijing. Austria’s Johannes Strolz won silver and Sebastian Foss-Solevaag of Norway took bronze.
🥇MEDAL COUNT: (As of 4:00 a.m. ET) - Norway is in first place with 27 medals, followed by the Russian Olympic Committee with 21, and the U.S. and Germany have 19 each. In the gold medal count, Norway is first with 12, Germany is second with 9, and the U.S. is third with eight. The U.S. has 19 medals overall, eight gold, seven silver and four bronze.  ESPN'S MEDAL TRACKER

OTHER SPORTS:

⚾START OF SPRING TRAINING WAS TO BE TODAY: The start of MLB's spring training has now officially been delayed as negotiations continue between the league and the locked-out players, with pitchers and catchers having been scheduled to report today. This is the first time spring training hasn't started on time since 1995. MLB won't announce a disruption to spring training, however, until February 26th -- if an agreement hasn't been reached by then -- when exhibition openers can't be played. MLB locked out the players on December 1st.

⚾FOUR MLB PLAYERS TESTIFY ABOUT GETTING OXYCODONE FROM EX-ANGELS EMPLOYEE: Four MLB players testified Tuesday about getting oxycodone pills from a former employee of the L.A. Angels who's accused of providing the drugs to Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs that led to his 2019 overdose death. Pitchers Matt Harvey, Mike Morin and Cam Bedrosian and first baseman C.J. Cron all played for the Angels at some point from 2017 to 2019. They also said the use of oxycodone was common in the majors. Prosecutors alleged it was during that time that Angels employee Eric Kay got drugs for players. Kay, who was the team's public relations contact on many road trips, is on trial on federal drug distribution and drug conspiracy charges.
 
Harvey said he'd used cocaine before and during his 2019 season with the Angels. He also testified he'd tried oxycodone provided by Skaggs, and gave drugs to Skaggs.

Morin and Cron said they got oxycodone from Kay for longer periods.

Bedrosian said he got three or four pills once, but only took one and didn't like how it made him feel.

🏒PENGUINS' CROSBY SCORES 500TH GOAL: Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby scored his 500th career goal last night during a 5-4 overtime victory against the Philadelphia Flyers. He's the 46th player in NHL history to reach the milestone, and the second active player to do so, joining the Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin. The home crowd cheered wildly when the 34-year-old made the landmark goal, and he was mobbed by his teammates.

➤BILES ENGAGED TO TEXANS' OWENS: Gymnastics legend Simone Biles is engaged to Houston Texans defensive back Jonathan Owens, with the 24-year-old sharing the news on Instagram Tuesday that Owens had popped the question on Valentine's Day a day earlier. She captioned a photo of Owens on one knee in front of her, "THE EASIEST YES. I can't wait to spend forever & ever with you, you're everything I dreamed of and more! let's get married FIANCÉ" The 26-year-old Owens posted on his social media too, writing, "Woke up this morning with a fiancé." The two met via social media in 2020.

🌩STUDY..WE’VE ALREADY DONE ENOUGH TO REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS TO AVOID WORST-CASE CLIMATE PREDICTIONS:  Good news: a new study finds that the world is unlikely to reach the “worst case scenario” of climate change by the end of the century, as efforts to reduce emissions are helping keep warming under control. Back in 2015, the Paris Climate Agreement set the goal to limit global warming this century to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit over pre-industrial temperatures in order to avoid the most extreme climate change scenarios being predicted at the time—a rise in temperatures by up to nine degrees Fahrenheit. Now, University of Colorado researchers say looking at the latest data on emission levels, the extreme temperature rise is no longer plausible. The researchers say the extreme predictions were based on outdated data from 15 years ago that did not take into account recent efforts to reduce emissions, and efforts to increase use of renewable energy. Ultimately, they say temperatures are likely to rise by no more than 4 degrees Fahrenheit by the year 2100, and the 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit goal “is still within reach” if emission reduction continues. They also warned a rise of 3.6 degrees would still place a “significant toll on the planet.” Lead study author Roger Pielke adds, “This is cautiously optimistic good news with respect to where the world is today, compared to where we thought we might be.”




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