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Monday, April 25, 2022

Wake-Up Call: U-S, Zelenskyy Meet In Ukraine, More Aid Promised


Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv Sunday in the highest-level U.S. visit to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in late February. The two promised hundreds of millions of dollars in new U.S. aid, $165 milion in ammunition and more than $300 million in foreign military financing. They also said that U.S. diplomats who left Ukraine before the war would start returning this week. Blinken, in video released by Ukraine of the meeting, praised the, quote, "extraordinary courage and leadership and success that you’ve had in pushing back this horrific Russian aggression."





Meanwhile, after Russian President Vladimir Putin had last Thursday reportedly ordered against storming a sprawling steel plant in Mariupol that is Ukrainian troops' last stronghold in the devastated city, Russian forces launched new airstrikes on the plant over the weekend, where an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters are holed up as well as some 1,000 civilians. The far-right Azov Battalion, which is among the Ukrainian forces at the plant, released a video Sunday of children in an underground bunker at the plant getting presents for Orthodox Easter.

Britain's Ministry of Defense said Monday that the Ukrainian troops at the steel plant were tying down Russian forces and keeping them from being deployed elsewhere in Russia's offensive in the eastern Donbas region. The ministry said in a Twitter post, "Ukraine’s defense of Mariupol has also exhausted many Russian units and reduced their combat effectiveness." As for the larger offensive in Donbas, where Russia moved to focus its efforts after being unsuccessful in more western parts of Ukraine, the British Ministry said Russia has so far only made, quote, "minor advances" and has yet to have a significant breakthrough. Ukraine, according to the Ministry, has repelled many assaults in the past week and, quote, "inflicted significant cost on Russian forces."


➤FRANCE'S MACRON RE-ELECTED, DEFEATING FAR-RIGHT LE PEN: French President Emmanuel Macron was re-elected by a comfortable margin over far-right Marine Le Pen Sunday, but his 58.5 percent to 41.5 percent victory was significantly closer than when they first faced off in 2017. Macron securing a second term brought relief among allies, including over concerns that France under Le Pen could have shifted from backing the European Union and NATO's efforts to support Ukraine against the Russian invasion. Acknowledging that many people voted for him to keep Le Pen out of office, Macron pledged to reunite the country and work to ease voters' anger that helped Le Pen's campaign.
 

🔥NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR SIGNS EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS OVER WILDFIRES: New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed emergency declarations as 20 wildfires continued to burn yesterday in nearly half of the state’s 33 counties. One wildfire that started earlier this month merged with a newer one Saturday in the northern part of the state to form the largest one in New Mexico at 84 square miles, leading to widespread evacuations in Mora and San Miguel counties. The governor said more than 200 structures have been burned by wildfires and another 900 are threatened. There were also wildfires in neighboring Arizona and in Nebraska, where a retired fire chief was killed and at least 11 firefighters were injured. Nebraska Emergency Management Agency officials said 66-year-old John P. Trumble was overcome by smoke and fire after his vehicle left the road Friday night because of poor visibility from smoke and dust. He was working with firefighters at the time as a spotter in Red Willow County.


➤11 BODIES FOUND AFTER JAPAN TOUR BOAT SINKING: The bodies of 11 people have been found with 15 others still missing after a tour boat sank Saturday afternoon (April 23rd) off Japan with 26 people on board, 24 passengers and two crew members. The Kazu 1 boat was on a scenic tour at Shiretoko National Park off Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island, when it sent a distress call Saturday afternoon. The Transportation Ministry is investigating why the tour was conducted despite rough weather on Saturday, at a location that's known to be difficult for boats to maneuver near Kashuni Waterfall.

➤SCIENTISTS REVEAL THE MOST OFF-PUTTING FLIRTING TACTICS:  You might be a natural at flirting, or you might not. University of Nicosia researchers had 200 participants fill out questionnaires about the flirting tactics they find most off-putting. They then tested out the most commonly named bad flirting tactics with 700 different participants to narrow down the top 11 flirting dealbreakers. 

Which they found are: 1) slimy approach, 2) bad hygiene, 3) lack of exclusive interest, 4) different views, 5) vulgar vocabulary, 6) lack of intelligence, 7) narcissism, 8), lack of humor and self-esteem, 9) excessive intimacy, 10) poor looks, and 11) stinginess. 

Women were found to be more sensitive to all 11 dealbreakers than men, and older participants were found to be more sensitive to the dealbreakers than younger participants. Researchers write, “The findings of the present research could be useful for people who want to improve their flirting skills, and for mental health professionals who want to help clients who face difficulties in the domain of mating.”

➤STUDY SHOWS NO BENEFIT TO INTERMITTENT FASTING OVER OTHER WEIGHT-LOSS PLANS:   “Time-restricted eating” is often touted as a weight-loss tactic, but a new clinical trial finds it holds no benefits when done along with calorie-cutting. Time-restricted eating is a form of intermittent fasting, in which people limit themselves to eating within a certain time window each day. Outside of that window, they swear off everything other than water or other calorie-free drinks. Researchers in China found when a group of obese adults cut back on calories, with or without adding time-restricted eating, those in the fasting group showed no greater weight loss. But other experts note the study had limitations, including that both study groups were instructed to cut their daily calories by 25 percent, with support of an intensive program that involved health coaches and keeping daily food logs. This makes it hard to show an added benefit from layering time-restricted eating onto that.

🏀NBA PLAYOFFS: Results from first-round games yesterday:
  • Milwaukee Bucks 119, Chicago Bulls 95 - Milwaukee leads series 3-1
  • Denver Nuggets 126, Golden State Warriors 121 - Nuggets avoid sweep with win. - Golden State leads series 3-1
  • Miami Heat 110, Atlanta Hawks 86 - Miami leads series 3-1
  • New Orleans Pelicans 118, Phoenix Suns 103 - Series tied 2-2
🏀ESPN: EMBIID NEEDS SURGERY ON TORN THUMB LIGAMENT, WILL CONTINUE TO PLAY: The Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid has a torn ligament in his thumb and needs surgery, but he will continue to play in the playoffs and will wait until the offseason to have the surgery done, ESPN reported yesterday. Embiid first felt the injury during Game 3 of the 76ers' first-round series against the Toronto Raptors last week and had an MRI. But he played with the injury in Game 4 and had 21 points and eight rebounds. Game 5 is tonight, with Philadelphia up 3 games to 1.

🏀NETS' SIMMONS WON'T PLAY IN GAME 4 TONIGHT: It had been reported that the Brooklyn Nets' Ben Simmons was expected to make his season debut in Game 4 of the Nets' first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics tonight. But that's apparently not happening, with media reports Sunday that he'd been ruled out because he had a return of back soreness yesterday. Simmons was recovering from a herniated disc and ESPN said he'd had about 10 pain-free days as he readied to return to play. The Nets are down 3-0 to the Celtics and at risk of being swept. Basketball Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Reggie Miller blasted the news, tweeting of Simmons, "This dude has ZERO competitive [fire]."


🏒CAPITALS STAR OVECHKIN INJURED AHEAD OF PLAYOFFS: Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin suffered what the team called an upper-body injury in last night's 4-3 shootout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He crashed hard into the boards early in the third period after tripping on the Toronto goalie Erik Kallgren's stick. The injury leaves Ovechkin's status uncertain with the NHL playoffs beginning in just over a week.

🏀UTAH'S GOBERT FINED FOR PROFANITY: Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert was fined $25,000 by the NBA Sunday for using profanity during a live televised interview the day before. Gobert was speaking with TNT on-court after the Jazz tied their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks with a 100-99 win in Game 4. He was asked about the potential of this Jazz team and said, "Man, f**k th talk. We just try to be the best team we can be, we try to enjoy the moment, and whatever happens, happens."



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