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Monday, April 18, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Ukrainian Fighters Ignore Russian Ultimatum


A few thousand Ukrainian soldiers were all that stood between the wrecked city of Mariupol and Russian troops late last night. The Ukrainian fighters rejected an ultimatum from Moscow to surrender by noon yesterday or die. The Russians are determined to take the strategic port city. As many as 100,000 citizens remain in the city with no way out.


Russia is believed to be preparing for an assault on Donbas, a predominantly Russian-speaking region of Ukraine where separatists already control some territory.

In an interview on CNN yesterday, President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed that Ukraine would not give up any of its territory in order to end the war with Russia.


➤SOUTH CAROLINA ROCKED BY TWO MASS SHOOTINGS: South Carolina suffered two mass shootings over the Easter weekend, including one at a mall in Columbia and a second at a club in Hampton County. One person was being held under house arrest in the mall shooting, but it appears he may have used a gun at the scene only in self-defense.


In the state capital of Columbia, nine people were shot and five more were injured trying to flee the scene when gunfire erupted inside a mall on Saturday. In the early hours of Sunday morning, at least nine people were injured in a shooting inside a club called Cara’s Lounge in Furman.
No fatalities were reported in either incident as of early this morning.

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, two teenagers were killed and at least eight others were injured during a party at an Airbnb rental. Police said there were hundreds of people at the party, and most of them were underage.


➤NORTH KOREA CLAIMS SUCCESSFUL WEAPONS TEST: North Korea state media claimed Sunday that the nation has successfully fired a tactical weapon capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. It is believed to be the nation’s 13th weapons test of the year. U.S.-backed denuclearization talks between North Korea and South Korea have stalled.

💰YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY PROCRASTINATOR: If you’re scurrying to finish your taxes today, you’re probably not alone. About 29% of tax filers don’t get it done until sometime in the last three weeks of the tax season, according to an NBC News analysis of IRS data. An average of 11% file for an extension so that they can put off the paperwork (but not the payment) even longer. Tax returns are due at midnight tonight for most of us.

➤FDA INVESTIGATES LUCKY CHARMS CEREAL: The Food and Drug Administration is investigating after more than 100 consumers reported that they got sick after eating Lucky Charms cereal. Thousands more have posted complaints online saying that they suffered nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea after eating the cereal. General Mills, maker of the cereal, told Fox Business News that its own internal investigation showed no evidence of problems with the product. No recall has been issued.

➤WHAT SCIENCE SAYS ABOUT TEEN GIRLS SCREAMING AND SOBBING AT CONCERTS: Sobbing, crying, and screaming at concerts are things girls have done since Beatlemania or earlier. So what’s up with that behavior? Musicologist Nate Sloan says, “Intense emotional reactions can actually trigger the body’s fight or flight response, which could be part of the reason why fans cry seeing their idols in person. Because that’s actually a nervous system flight response, and not triggered by fear, but just being in an intense emotional state.” 

Sociologist Michelle Janning says there are various explanations, including that entering a concert space is “a kind of vacation from control,” which is especially needed by girls, she adds, “There is still a lot at play at how we socialize children into gender roles that make girls and women feel like they need to be small, to gatekeep themselves, that they can’t be loud.” Another piece is we’ve all been socialized to do things like scream loudly at concerts. But these days, female fans don’t just scream for boy bands or artists, they also scream for Billie Eilish. Teen psychologist Barbara Greenberg tells Yahoo Life that the screaming and crying could have to do with the feeling that a beloved artist is putting words to a fan’s private emotions, and “it’s really big to feel understood.” 

Some other theories about people reacting emotionally to artists on stage regardless of their gender: sexual attraction, thinking the artist speaks for them and with them, a sense of frustration from being so close to their idol but yet so far away, and in some cases, just feeling like they relate so much to the artist and the message they're expressing that crying is a visceral response.


➤SMOKING REDUCES WEALTH’S TENDENCY TO INCREASE LIFE EXPECTANCY:  Smoking is really unhealthy, to the point that it can dominate other factors, including amount of wealth, in shortening lifespan. University of California researchers found the percentage of Americans surviving from age 65 to 85 was 19 percentage points higher for someone with at least $300,000 in wealth than for those with no assets. However, there was a 37 percentage point difference between those who never smoked and current smokers. The wealth-related disparity in mortality was larger than the disparities by education, occupation, income, or childhood socioeconomic status, but smoking made the biggest difference among all factors. Study author Dana Glei adds, “Our results suggest that even if wealth has a causal effect on mortality, it cannot compete with the impact of smoking. If you want to live longer, you better avoid the cancer sticks.” 

🏀MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS: Who’s the NBA’s most valuable player this season: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokic? It’s okay if you can’t choose one. Neither can the NBA. It’s a close contest among the three finalists for the 2021-2022 NBA Awards. The final choices will be announced in June.

➤CHECK IT OUT: The full list of NBA Award finalists is out.

🏀MAV’S LUKA MAY BE MISSED TONIGHT: Speaking of Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks are playing the Utah Jazz tonight in Game 2 of the opening-round playoff series, but Luka probably won’t be there. He strained his calf in a game last week and, barring dramatic improvement, is expected to be ruled out.


🏈USFL DEBUTS: The United States Football League, last seen way back in 1985, made its official comeback over the weekend. In its inaugural game on Saturday, the Birmingham Stallions defeated the New Jersey Generals 28 to 24.

🏌JORDAN SPEITH WINS RBC HERITAGE PLAYOFF: Jordan Spieth fended off Patrick Cantlay with a 56-foot shot from a greenside bunker that stopped seven inches away from the hole. That was close enough for Speith to win the RBC Heritage Playoff in Hilton Head yesterday. It’s Spieth’s 13 career win on the PGA tour but his first since the Valera Texas Open last year.

🏀KYRIE IRVING CLAPS BACK AT BOSTON FANS: Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving was greeted with boos and shouted insults by Boston fans when he made his appearance for the Nets games against the Celtics on Sunday. He replied by flipping the bird. Twice. He scored 39 points for Brooklyn during the game, too. No apologies from Irving: “It’s the same energy they have for me. I’m going to have the same energy for them,” he said after the game, which Boston won 115 to 114. Irving played for Boston from 2017 to 2019.

🏀NBA PLAYOFFS: Results from first-round games yesterday:
  • New Orleans Pelicans 99, Phoenix Suns 110 (Phoenix leads 1-0)
  • Brooklyn Nets 114, Boston Celtics 115 (Boston leads 1-0)
  • Atlanta Hawks 91, Miami Heat 115 (Miami leads 1-0)
  • Chicago Bulls 86, Milwaukee Bucks 93 (Milwaukee leads 1-0)





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