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Friday, May 20, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Mariupol Troops Listed As POWs


The hundreds of Ukrainian fighters who surrendered to Russian forces this week after holding out for months out at a sprawling steel plant in Mariupol have been registered by the Red Cross, which gathered their names, dates of birth and closest relative, AP reports. Amid fears that Russians might inflict reprisals on them, Amnesty International tweeted that as prisoners of war, they, quote, "must not be subjected to any form of torture or ill-treatment." More than 1,700 Ukrainian soldiers evacuated from the steel plant this week and surrendered to Russian forces, but an undisclosed number still remain in the bunkers and tunnel under the plant.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address yesterday that Russian troops were intensifying their attacks in the eastern Donbas region, saying, "It is hell there and that’s not an exaggeration." He mentioned a, quote, "brutal and completely senseless bombardment of Severodonetsk," where he said 12 people were killed and dozens wounded in one day. He also said many people had been killed in Russian strikes on the village of Desna in the northeastern Chernihiv region, where rescuers were still going through the rubble.
 

Meanwhile, a captured Russian soldier testified in the first war crimes trial held by Ukraine that he shot an unarmed 62-year-old civilian man in the head on an officer's order in the early days after the invasion. The 21-year-old, Sergeant Vadim Shishimarin, said he disobeyed a first order, but felt he had no choice but to carry the order out when it was repeated by another officer, saying he was told the man could pinpoint the Russian troops' location to Ukrainian forces. Shishimarin apologized to the victim’s widow and pleaded for her forgiveness. The prosecutor asked for a life sentence. Two other captured Russian soldiers appeared in court in another part of Ukraine yesterday on war crimes charges that they shelled civilians. As did Shishimarin, both pled guilty.
 

Senate Approves $40 Billion Aid Package for Ukraine: The Senate overwhelmingly approved a $40 billion package of military and economic aid for Ukraine and its allies after the House passed it last week. President Biden is expected to quickly sign it.

Finland Prez, Sweden PM Meet with Biden at White House: The president of Finland and prime minister of Sweden met with President Biden at the White House yeserday, days after they applied to join NATO in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. With Finland's President Sauli Niinistö and Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson at his side, Biden called the applications "momentous, and said both countries, quote, "meet every NATO requirement and then some."

➤BIDEN ARRIVES IN SOUTH KOREA TODAY FOR START OF SIX-DAY ASIAN TRIP: President Biden will arrive in South Korea today (May 20th) to kick off a six-day Asian trip during which he will also visit Japan. He will meet with newly-elected South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and will also meet with other leaders of the Indo-Pacific strategic alliance known as the Quad, a group that includes the U.S., Australia, India and Japan. Topics will include trade, strengthening the global supply chain, and concerns about North Korea's nuclear program and its explosion of Covid-19 cases. Biden also wants a message sent to China of Russia's experience in Ukraine giving Beijing pause about its own ambitions in the Pacific.
 

➤CDC RECOMMENDS KIDS AGES 5 TO 11 GET COVID-19 VACCINE BOOSTER: Days after the Food and Drug Administration gave its approval for booster shots of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday recommended a booster for this age group, at least five months after their second original vaccine shot. Pfizer currently makes the only Covid vaccine available for children of any age in the U.S.
 

➤OKLAHOMA PASSES NATION'S STRICTEST ABORTION BAN: Oklahoma lawmakers passed the nation's strictest abortion ban yesterday barring all abortions with exceptions only if a pregnant woman's life is at risk and in cases of rape and incest that are reported to law enforcement. This comes after Oklahoma's governor signed a ban earlier this month banning abortion after six weeks, but now even that would be eliminated. Governor Kevin Sitt has said he will sign any anti-abortion legislation, and it would go into effect immediately. Like the law that went into effect in Texas last year that bans abortions after six weeks, this Oklahoma legislation would allow private citizens to sue abortion providers or anyone who helps a woman obtain an abortion. This measure was passed in the wake of the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion that indicates the high court is poised to overturn the five-decade-old Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide.

 🍔WISCONSIN MAN MARKS 50 YEARS OF DAILY BIG MAC MEALS: He really has been lovin’ it. A Wisconsin man who previously earned a Guinness World Record for most Big Macs eaten in a lifetime just celebrated another milestone: 50 years of eating a Big Mac nearly every day. Don Gorske of Fond du Lac earned his record in 1999 when was confirmed to have eaten 15,490 of the McDonald’s sandwiches during his life, and the record was most recently updated in August 2021, when his total surpassed 32,340. He’s now celebrating 50 years of eating a Big Mac almost every day since May 17th, 1972. He says he often eats two of the sandwiches on a given day, and has missed only eight days in his 50-year streak. He says he’s tried burgers from other fast food restaurants, but nothing has proven as good to him as the Big Mac. 

📲STUDY..TO CUT BACK ON SCREEN TIME, TURN OFF FACIAL RECOGNITION, SET YOUR SMARTPHONE TO BLACK AND WHITE:  If you spend too much time staring at your phone you could try cutting back on your screen time. McGill University researchers found there are ten strategies to help you do that. They include: 1) reducing non-essential notifications; 2) enable screen time tracking and set time limits for particular apps; 3) keep your phone on silent (with vibrate off) while sleeping and out of reach when going to bed; 4) set your screen to greyscale—a study found this makes smartphones “less gratifying”; 5) hide social media apps in a folder off of your home screen (or even delete them); 6) keep your phone on silent, face down, out of sight, and out of reach when not in use throughout the day; 7) make it harder to unlock—disable Touch ID and use a password instead; 8) turn down your screen brightness and change the color warmth to filter out blue light; 9) if you can do the task on a computer, try to keep it on the computer, and 10) leave your phone at home when you can. Lead study author Jay Olson says, “Most of the participants spent four to five hours per day on their phones. The intervention reduced this by about an hour per day, sometimes freeing up the equivalent of an entire full-time work week per month.”

🐶YOUR DOG IS NOT READY FOR YOU TO RETURN TO THE OFFICE:  More than 23 million US households added a cat or dog during the pandemic, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. And many of those animals have never known what it’s like to be left alone all day. But now that many are returning to their offices, the animals have to adjust. Kate Senisi is the director of training at School for Dogs in Manhattan and says, “We’ve had a lot of separation cases coming through.” She says dogs who were used to being left alone before the pandemic tend to adjust relatively quickly, “But for the pandemic puppies—they haven’t been left at all, and now they’re at a sensitive age, adolescence. It can be pretty difficult. They have to be taught these new skills.” She also adds that you should not give your dog a special toy only when you leave, because then the toy will become a trigger for distress. Pam Reid, vice president of the ASPCA’s behavioral science team says dogs who are suddenly left alone may feel “confused, lonely and wondering why everyone is rushing out the door instead of spending time at home." She suggests short practice separations before the big return to the workplace, and scheduling walks and meals to accommodate the future work schedule.

🏀CELTICS DEFEAT HEAT 127-102 TO EVEN EASTERN CONF. FINALS AT 1-1: The Boston Celtics defeated the Miami Heat 127-102 last night in Miami to even up the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at 1-1. Jayson Tatum led Boston with 27 points and Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown each had 24. The Celtics had been behind by 10 points in the first quarter, but then went on a 60-21 run over the next 18 minutes, giving them a 70-45 halftime lead. Game 3 is Saturday in Boston.

🏒NHL PLAYOFFS: Results from second-round games yesterday:
  • Tampa Bay Lightning 4, Florida Panthers 1 - Tampa Bay leads series 2-0
  • St. Louis Blues 4, Colorado Avalanche 1 - Series tied at 1-1

🏈FISHER FIRES BACK AFTER SABAN ACCUSES TEXAS A&M OF 'BUYING' PLAYERS WITH NIL DEALS: Texas A&M head football coach Jimbo Fisher fired back yesterday at Nick Saban after the legendary Alabama coach had the night before essentially accused the Aggies of "buying" players with name, image and likeness (NIL) deals. Fisher declared, "It’s despicable that a reputable head coach can come out and say this when he doesn’t get his way or things don’t go his way," calling Saban a "narcissist" and declaring, "Some people think they're God." Fisher also said Saban had called him after he made the comments but he didn't take the call, saying, "We're done. He showed you who he is." For his part, while he continued to criticize the effect the NIL deals are having on colllege football yesterday, Saban told ESPN he shouldn't have singled out any schools, as he did with Texas A&M and also with Jackson State.

 
🏌MCILROY IN THE LEAD AFTER PGA CHAMPIONSHIP'S OPENING ROUND: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland is at the top of the leaderboard after the opening round of the PGA Championship yesterday at Southern Hills in Oklahoma. He shot a 5-under 65, giving him a one stroke lead over Americans Will Zalatoris and Tom Hoge in second place. The day wasn't as good for Tiger Woods, who'd hoped that his right leg that was severely injured in a February 2021 car crash would hold up better at the PGA Championship than it did over the four days of the Master's last month. But he ended the first round with a 4-over 74, and could be seen limping and appearing at times to be in pain as he played.

⚾METS ACE SCHERZER HAS STRAINED OBLIQUE MUSCLE, OUT SIX TO EIGHT WEEKS: New York Mets ace Max Scherzer has a strained oblique muscle in his left side and is expected to be out for six to eight weeks. The three-time Cy Young Award winner had an MRI yesterday, the day after he pulled himself out of a game against the St. Louis Cardinals in the sixth inning after suffering the injury when he made a pitch.

⚾PADRES MANAGER SET TO RETURN TODAY AFTER SURGERY: San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin is planning to be back with the team tonight for the start of their series against the San Francisco Giants after having been away since having prostate surgery on May 11th. The Padres have said no cancer was found. Bench coach Ryan Christenson managed in Melvin's absence.




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