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Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Gunman Planned Buffalo Attack For Months


A diary that the 18-year-old accused gunman in Saturday's mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket that targeted Black people apparently posted online shows he allegedly planned the attack for months, according to diary entries on the Discord platform, the Associated Press reported. In them, he wrote about carrying out a livestreamed attack on Black people, practicing shooting from his car and traveling hours from his home in Conklin, New York, in March to scout out the store. The diary included hand-drawn maps of the Tops grocery store and counts of the number of Black people he saw there.

The accused gunman, Payton Gendron, is being held in jail under suicide watch, with federal authorities considering bringing hate crime or domestic terrorism charges. There were 10 Black people killed and three wounded, one of them also Black and the other two white.



➤264 FIGHTERS EVACUATED FROM MARIUPOL STEEL PLANT, UKRAINE TRYING TO RESCUE THOSE REMAINING: There were 264 Ukrainian fighters evacuated Monday from the steel plant in Mariupol where they had been holed up under bombardment for weeks as the last remaining resistance in the devastated city, and efforts were underway to rescue the fighters still in the plant. Ukrainian officials said the fighters had, quote, "completed their mission" and there was no way to free the plant militarily. Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said the 264 evacuated fighters, including some who were badly wounded, were taken to areas under Russian control. It was unclear if they would be considered prisoners of war, but Malilar said a exchange would be worked out for their return. Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelenskyy said the evacuation to areas under Russian control was done to save the lives of the fighters.

Meanwhile, after both Finland and Sweden said they wanted to apply for NATO membership, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that he, quote, "does not have a problem" with it, stating that Russia "does not have a problem with these states. And therefore in this sense there is no direct threat to Russia created by the expansion involving these countries." However, he added that any "expansion of military infrastructure onto this territory will of course give rise to our reaction in response." Putin has said he launched the invasion of Ukraine as an effort to check NATO's expansion.

➤CALIFORNIA CHURCH ATTACK MOTIVATED BY HATRED OF TAIWANESE PEOPLE: Authorities aid Monday that a 68-year-old man accused of carrying out a shooting at a California church Sunday in which one person was killed and five wounded was motivated by hatred of Taiwanese people. David Chou of Las Vegas, a U.S. citizen who grew up in Taiwan, allegedly drove to Laguna Woods, California, and attended a lunch held by the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church, which worships at Geneva Presbyterian Church. Before the shooting, it's alleged that he chained the doors and put super glue on the keyholes. Killed when he opened fire was 52-year-old Dr. John Cheng, who tackled him, which allowed other parishioners to subdue him and tie him up. Sheriff Don Barnes said Cheng probably saved the lives of "dozens of people." Chou has been jailed on $1 million bail. Chou's family was among many forcibly removed from mainland China to Taiwan after 1948, according to Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. AP said relations between Chinese people forced to flee to Taiwan and native Taiwanese were frequently tense.


➤ADMINISTRATION TAKES STEPS TO DEAL WITH BABY FORMULA SHORTAGE: The administration announced steps yesterday to address the baby formula shortage. The Food and Drug Administration said it's streamlining its review process to make it easier for foreign manufacturers to begin shipping more formula into the U.S. Regulators also announced that they'd reached a deal to allow Abbott Nutrition to restart its plant in Sturgis, Michigan, the largest domestic manufacturing plant for formula, after it had been closed since February due to contamination issues. The company must overhaul its safety protocols and procedures before resuming production. After getting the FDA's okay, Abbott said it will take eight to 10 weeks before new formula shipments begin getting to stores. Getting imports will also take several weeks.


🏠DeSANTIS BANS PROTESTS AT PEOPLE'S HOMES:  Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation Monday outlawing protests at private residences, saying it will prevent protests in the state like those carried out by abortion rights protesters in front of the Virginia homes of some U.S. Supreme Court justices after the leak of a draft opinion that suggested the high court is poisted to overturn the five-decade-old Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. Under the measure, which is set to go into effect on October 1st, it's a second-degree misdemeanor to protest in a way that's meant to intentionally harass or disturb someone in their home. However, protesters can only be arrested if they ignore police orders to disperse. Violators face potential penalties of 60 days in jail and fines of up to $500. Some Democrats contend that the measure infringes on people's First Amendment rights to free speech.

➤JURY SEES PICTURES OF AMBER HEARD’S SWOLLEN FACE AFTER FIGHT WITH JOHNNY DEPP:   On Monday, the jury in Johnny Depp’s defamation trial against Amber Heard saw photos of Heard’s face following the last fight the former couple got into before divorcing. Heard also detailed how she covered up bruises on her face with makeup.

The photos introduced to the jury on Monday showed red marks and swelling on Heard’s face, which Heard testified were the result of Depp throwing a phone at her.

Two days after this final altercation, Heard filed for divorce. She also got a temporary restraining order against the Pirates of the Caribbean actor and was photographed leaving a courthouse with “a clear red mark on her right cheek.”

The Aquaman actress also testified on Monday that she was not responsible for the fecal matter left in the former couple’s bed. She said their teacup Yorkshire terrier had bowel issues ever since the dog ingested some of Depp’s marijuana.

➤CDC DATA...U-S PASSES ONE MILLION COVID-19 DEATHS: The U.S. passed one million deaths from Covid-19 on Monday, according to death certificate data compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. It's believed, however, that the actual number of deaths due to Covid, whether directly or indirectly as a result of disruption to our health care system, is much higher. Among the Americans who died of Covid, three out of every four were people age 65 and older, more men died than women, and while white people made up most of the deaths, Black, Hispanic and Native Americans have been about twice as likely to die from Covid as white Americans. The U.S. is now averaging about 300 Covid deaths per day, compared to a peak of some 3,400 per day in January 2021.

🛬JETBLUE LAUNCHES HOSTILE TAKEOVER BID FOR SPIRIT AIRLINES: JetBlue launched a hostile takeover bid for Spirit Airlines Monday after Spirit rebuffed its acquistion offer earlier this month, and it asked Spirit shareholders to reject a proposed acquisition by Frontier Airlines. Spirit said that it will "carefully review" JetBlue’s tender offer and plans to make a recommendation to shareholders within 10 business days. JetBlue's offer is $30 per share in cash, or more than $3.2 billion, to Spirit stockholders. But it said earlier offer is still available.

➤SOME MILLENNIALS AND GEN Z HAVE HIT AN ‘APOCALYPTIC’ PHASE IN WHICH THEY DON’T SEE THE POINT OF SAVING FOR THE FUTURE: The world has been through a lot lately. A recent New York Times report reveals millennials and Gen Zers (roughly ages 26 to 41), are spending money on things that bring meaning to their lives. 

In fact, a Fidelity planning survey found that 45 percent of “next gen” respondents—defined as ages 18 to 35—“don’t see a point in saving until things return to normal.” This could be a hefty order, as some Gen Zers have never experienced what higher-education and work life were like in a pre-pandemic world. 

Meanwhile, millennials have had it rough for a while—in 2019 they were dealing with all-time-high student debt, reduced purchasing power, high-priced housing, and skyrocketing healthcare and childcare costs. Come 2020, Gen Z was hit hardest by the pandemic in terms of school, life, jobs and dating. Unemployment was high, and mental health was deteriorating. 

For millennials, it was yet another recession. New York Times reporter Anna Kambhampaty spoke to young workers who say they were foregoing saving and instead spending on life experiences. Many said if homeownership wasn’t an option, which it wasn’t for at least a quarter of millennials, they’d at least tap into their savings for rentals in a dream city. In addition to all of this, many millennials and Gen Zers are thinking a lot about climate change, and it’s even impacting the decision to have children for many. Financial psychologist Brad Klontz told the New York Times, “If you have an apocalyptic vision of the future, why would you save for it? Of course you wouldn’t.” 

➤ELIMINATING AIR POLLUTION WOULD SAVE 50,000 LIVES ANNUALLY, STUDY ESTIMATES:  Air pollution is more dangerous than you might think. University of Wisconsin researchers found that completely eliminating air pollution from energy production in the United States could prevent more than 50,000 deaths each year. It would also save the country more than $600 billion annually, thanks to fewer pollution-related illnesses and deaths. Study co-author Dr. Jonathan Patz says, “Transitioning away from fossil fuels and toward cleaner sources of energy production can produce health benefits from improved air quality in the near-term while also providing climate benefits in the longer term. My hope is that our research findings might spur decision-makers grappling with the necessary move away from fossil fuels, to shift their thinking from burdens to benefits.” Exposure to high levels of air pollution may increase their risk for heart and lung diseases as well as dementia and arthritis.

🏀KENTUCKY WOMAN FILES FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER AGAINST CAVALIERS' RONDO: A Kentucky woman filed for an emergency protective order Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers' Rajon Rondo, according to media reports Monday. The woman says in the request that Rondo was playing video games with a child last week when she asked the child to finish separating his laundry. When the child got up to do so, she says Rondo ripped the video game console out of the wall, and then went downstairs and smashed a plate, knocked over water bottles, and began yelling and cursing. He then went outside and knocked over the trash cans, according to the request, stomped on the landscaping lights, and drove his car onto the lawn. When the woman confronted him, she says Rondo said, "You're dead," then, after briefly leaving, he came back and beat on a window with a gun. The woman called former interim Louisville Metro Police chief Yvette Gentry, but she said Rondo wouldn’t allow Gentry inside. The woman locked herself in the house with the kids, until Gentry told her Rondo had left and she had his gun. A judge granted the protective order, ordering Rondo not to communicate with the woman and to stay at least 500 feet away from her.

🏈BROWNS QB WATSON TO MEET WITH NFL OFFICIALS THIS WEEK: Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is scheduled to meet with NFL officials this week, according to media reports yesterday (May 16th). The NFL is investigating whether Watson violated the league's code of conduct, after 22 lawsuits were brought against him by women who accuse him of inappropriate sexual conduct during massage sessions. Watson has denied any wrongdoing, and two Texas grand juries have declined to indict the former Houston Texans player on criminal charges.
 

⚾HOUSTON PITCHER ODORIZZI TAKEN OFF FIELD IN STRETCHER WITH LEG INJURY: Houston Astros pitcher Jake Odorizzi was taken off the field in a stretcher last night when he injured his leg and collapsed while running to cover first base in the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. The team said Odorizzi had "left lower leg discomfort," and manager Dusty Baker said he would have an MRI done, stating, "He’s probably doing better than it looked like on the mound." Boston won the game 6-3.

🏒GOLDEN KNIGHTS FIRE HEAD COACH DEBOER: The Vegas Golden Knights fired head coach Peter DeBoer yesterday (May 16th) after the NHL team missed the playoffs for the first time in the franchise's five-year history. But general manager Kelly McCrimmon wasn't critical of DeBoer, saying the organization was looking for a "new voice" to lead the team, and stating, "The decision was made based on next year, the decision was not based on last year." DeBoer was head coach for two-and-a-half seasons, hired mid-season in January 2020 to replace Gerard Gallant.




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