Friday, April 1, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Russian Troops Leave Nuke Area


ZELENSKYY WARNS OF NEW ATTACK IN EAST: Russian troops left the Chernobyl nuclear site early Friday, giving control of it back to the Ukrainians. Ukraine's state power company said that took place after soldiers received what it called "significant doses" of radiation from digging trenches in the radiation-contaminated forest around the plant that was decommissioned after its 1986 disaster. AP noted there was no independent confirmation of the power company's claim. Meanwhile, in the besieged port city of Mariupol, other Russian forces blocked a convoy of 45 buses trying to evacuate people after Russia agreed to a limited cease-fire in the area. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk also said Russian troops seized 14 tons of food and medical supplies in buses bound for Mariupol.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned last night that Russia's withdrawals from northern and central parts of the country were a military tactic to increase forces for stronger new attacks in the southeast. Zelenskyy, the U.S., and others had previously expressed skepticism about Russia's talk of scaling back its military activity near the capital city Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv, and AP said there's growing indication the talk is cover for Russia to regroup, resupply its forces and redeploy them for a heightened offensive in eastern Ukraine. Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address, "We know that they are moving away from those areas where we hit them in order to focus on other, very important ones where it may be difficult for us. There will be battles ahead." Despite that, a new round of talks between the two countries is scheduled for today.

🛢BIDEN ORDERS RELEASE OF OIL FROM STRATEGIC RESERVE: President Biden yesterday ordered the release of one million barrels of oil per day from the nation's strategic reserve for six months, in an effort to control energy prices that have shot up after the imposition of tough sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Biden said it wasn't known how much gas prices could go down as result, but suggested it could be, quote, "anything from 10 cents to 35 cents a gallon." Biden also called for Congress to financially penalize oil and gas companies that lease public lands, but aren't producing on them. The higher prices have so far not led to be a meaningful increase in production by oil companies, and Biden charged that the companies are more focused on their profits instead of producing more barrels of oil, saying, "This is not the time to sit on record profits: It’s time to step up for the good of your country." At the same time, Biden said he'll invoke the Defense Production Act to encourage the mining of critical minerals for batteries in electric vehicles, part of the broader effort to move toward cleaner energy.

➤ISRAEL RAIDS WEST BANK CAMP AFTER ATTACKS, TWO PALESTINIANS KILLED: Israeli forces raided a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank Thursday in the wake of a series of deadly attacks in Israel over the past week, sparking a gun battle in which two Palestinians were killed and 15 wounded. The raid in the Jenin camp came two days after a Palestinian from a nearby village shot and killed five people in central Israel, the latest of three attacks that have left 11 people dead. The previous two attacks were carried out by Arab citizens of Israel. The Israeli military said the gun battle began when troops seeking to arrest three suspects linked to the attack were fired on. One soldier was wounded. The Islamic Jihad militant group announced a "general mobilization" of its fighters after yesterday's raid.


➤DEFENSE RESTS IN TRIAL OF FOUR MEN ACCUSED IN PLOT TO KIDNAP MICHIGAN GOVERNOR: Defense attorneys rested their case yesterday in the trial of four men charged with plotting to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020, with closing arguments expected today. The defense rested after Daniel Harris testfied, the only one of the four to take the stand. The 24-year-old Harris repeatedly said, "Absolutely not" when asked if he'd agreed to abduct the Democratic governor before the 2020 election. He is charged along with Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr. and Brandon Casserta, the four acused of conspiring to kidnap Whitmer because of their anger with government and her tough pandemic restrictions. The prosecution's case during the trial included testimony from undercover FBI agents, an informant, and two men who pled guilty and testified against the defendants.

➤KUSHNER TESTIFIES BEFORE JAN. 6 COMMITTEE: Jared Kushner, former President Donald Trump's son-in-law who was a senior White House adviser to him, voluntarily testified before the House committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol yesterday. Kushner, the first close relative of Trump known to have spoken to the panel, appeared virtually, committee member Rep. Elaine Luria told MSNBC. The Virginia Democrat wouldn't go into detail about what Kushner told them, but she did say he was asked about published reports about the days leading up to the Capitol attack, saying he was able to, quote, "provide information to us to verify, substantiate, provide his own take on this different reporting." Kushner was traveling back to the U.S. from Saudi Arabia on the day of the Capitol attack.

➤LGBT RIGHTS GROUPS SUE OVER FLORIDA LAW CALLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' BY CRITICS: Gay rights groups sued Florida Governor Ron DeSantis yesterday to block the state's new law critics have dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" law banning classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. The challenge was filed in federal court by Equality Florida and Family Equality, charging the law violates the constitutional rights of free speech, equal protection and due process of students and families. DeSantis and Republicans say children should learn about sexual orientation and gender identity from their parents, not in school.

🍺ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AT ANY LEVEL MAY INCREASE RISK OF HEART DISEASE:  Bad news if you’re planning to have some wine with dinner. A new, large study finds that alcohol intake at all levels is linked with higher risks of cardiovascular disease. Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT, and Harvard, say previous observational studies suggesting that consuming small amounts of alcohol may provide heart-related health benefits might actually be attributed to other healthy lifestyle factors that are typically followed among light to moderate drinkers. Study senior author, Dr. Krishna Aragam says, “The findings affirm that alcohol intake should not be recommended to improve cardiovascular health; rather, that reducing alcohol intake will likely reduce cardiovascular risk in all individuals, albeit to different extents based on one’s current level of consumption.”


👰PEOPLE BORN IN THE 80S NOT LIKELY TO MARRY THEIR FIRST COHABITATING PARTNER:  There’s no rule that says you have to marry the first person you live with. Researchers from two universities looked at data from two different surveys with respondents from three birth cohorts: 1974-1979, 1980-1984, and 1985-1990. They found people born in the 70s had a 50/50 chance of splitting up with or staying with (or marrying) their first partner, while 43 percent of those born 1985-1990 split up with their first cohabitating partner. Study authors note that living with someone (rather than marriage) has become an almost universal form of first partnership regardless of socio-economic background or educational level. Co-author of the study, Dr Júlia Mikolai explains, “This could be a sign of the emergence of a new behavior such as short-lived relationships starting while in education or shortly after finishing a degree. Postponement of first partnership formation among those not pursuing further education could also be a marker of the increased economic hardship and uncertainties.” Researchers also point out that this research only considered those who formed their first partnerships before age 27.

💰COINS IN SHORT SUPPLY:  Coins are in short supply in circulation because Americans aren't using them, and retailers, laundromats and other businesses that rely on them want more help in changing that. A group of trade associations that represent businesses including banks, retailers, truck stops, grocery stores and more is asking the Treasury Department for more assistance in getting Americans to use coins and get them back in circulation. There was a coin circulation issue earlier in the pandemic too, as the crisis disrupted people's buying habits, shifting purchases largely to credit cards and reducing small transactions that generate change. Because of the problem, the Federal Reserve restricted coin orders by financial institutions in July 2020 and convened a task force, leading to a campaign encouraging people to get coins into circulation. While coin deposit volumes began to increase gradually, businesses say the problem has come up again as people have stopped using coins and have stuck to using credit cards. The issue has the biggest impact on people who don’t have bank accounts and rely on using cash.


🏀GIANNIS BECOMES BUCKS' ALL-TIME SCORING LEADER: Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo became the franchise's all-time scoring leader last night in the team's 120-119 overtime win against the Brooklyn Nets. Giannis reached the milestone on a three-point shot that forced overtime, part of his 44 overall points in the game. He'd come into the game 39 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's career scoring leader, who had 14,211 of his points with the Bucks. Giannis, who's played all nine of his NBA seasons with Milwaukee, now has 14,216 points.

🏒TORONTO'S MATTHEWS SCORES NHL-LEADING 50TH GOAL: The Toronto Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 50th goal of the season in the team's 7-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets last night. Matthews scored his 50th goal into an empty net with 2:06 left, moving past the Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl's 49 goals into the league lead. He also became the first Maple Leafs player with 50 goals in a season since Dave Andreychuk had 53 in the 1993-94 season.

🏌KUPCHO, LEE SHARE LEAD AFTER FIRST ROUND OF CHEVRON CHAMPIONSHIP: American Jennifer Kupcho and Minjee Lee of Australia share the lead after the opening round of The Chevron Championship yesterday, one of women's golf's majors. They both shot a 6-under 66 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. This is the last year the tournament will be played at Mission Hills after starting there in 1972 and becoming a major in 1983. It is shifting to Houston next year under a deal with Chevon.
 

🏀XAVER BEATS TEXAS A&M FOR NIT CHAMPIONSHIP: Xavier beat Texas A&M 73-72 last night for their first NIT Championship in 64 years. Colby Jones scored 21 points for Xavier and was named the college basketball tournament's outstanding player. Dwon Odom had 18 points and Jack Nunge had 15 points, including the go-ahead basket with 3.1 seconds left. Xavier came back from being down eight points at halftime for the win at New York City's Madison Square Garden. It will be the last NIT title game at MSG for at least a few years, ending a college basketball tradition that dates to 1938. A bid process has begun to find new sites for 2023 and 2024, the NIT announced this week.


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