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Friday, May 6, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Ukranian Fighters At Steel Plant Refuse Surrender


The Ukrainian forces who have been holed up at the steel plant in Mariupol that has been the last pocket of resistance in the devastated port city are refusing to surrender, even as they are fighting Russian troops who've now gotten into the tunnels under the sprawling plant. The wife of one commander said after speaking to him by phone that he'd vowed to "stand till the end," and that he'd said to her what, quote, "seemed like words of goodbye." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address, "There are many wounded [fighters], but they are not surrendering. They are holding their positions." A few hundred civilians are also believed to still be in bunkers under the plant. 

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that Russian forces are still making only, quote, "plodding" progress in the eastern Donbas region, where they have refocused their fight, and that the U.S. has assessed that Russia is behind schedule and not making the progress it expected in Donbas. Meanwhile, Ukraine's chief of defense siad that they could begin a counteroffensive to push Russian forces away from the cities of Kharkiv and Izyum. Ukrainian forces have in recent days been able to driven the Russians about 25 miles east of Kharkiv.
 

An American official said yesterday that the U.S. shared intelligence with Ukraine about the location of a Russian flagship before Ukraine's strike last month that sank it. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. has provided a "range" of intelligence to Ukraine, including the location of warships, but that it was wholly Ukraine's decision to target the Moskva missile cruiser in the high-profile incident.

Putin Apologizes to Israeli PM Over Foreign Minister's Holocaust Remarks: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said yesterday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had apologized during a phone conversation with him for recent controversial remarks made about Jews and the Holocaust by Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. Lavrov had been questioned about Russia's rationale for the war that they are "denazifying" Ukraine, asked how that could by true as President Zelenskyy is Jewish. Lavrov said there could still be Nazi elements and then said Adolf Hitler had, quote, "Jewish origins." That angered Israelis, who said it appeared that Lavrov was blaming the Holocast on the Jews themselves.

➤SUPREME COURT'S ROBERTS CALLS LEAK "APPALLING" IN FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE: In his first public appearance yesterday since the stunning leak three days earlier of a draft opinion that would strike down the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts called it "absolutely appalling," but also said he hopes, quote, "one bad apple" won't change "people's perception" of the nation's highest court. Speaking at a meeting of lawyers and judges of the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference, Roberts further said that it whoever was behind the leak thinks it will affect the work of the Supreme Court, they are, quote, "foolish."


➤THREE ISRAELIS FATALLY STABBED NEAR TEL AVIV: Three Israelis were fatally stabbed in the town of Elad near Tel Aviv last night when two Palestinians went on a stabbing rampage, also wounding four others. The attackers then fled in a vehicle, and a massive manhunt was on for them. The two suspects came from Jenin in the West Bank, according to police. This was the latest in string of deadly attacks in Israel in recent weeks, and came on Israel's Independence Day. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack, however the Palestinian militant group Hamas praised it.

➤U.S. LIMITS WHO CAN GET JOHNSON & JOHNSON COVID VACCINE DUE TO BLOOD CLOT RISK: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration yesterday imposed new limits on who can get Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine due the continuing risk of rare but serious blood clots. Now, only adults who can't get a different vaccine or who specifically request the J&J vaccine can get it. U.S. regulators have for months already been recommending that people get either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine instead of Johnson & Johnson's. The blood clot risk is there only in the first two weeks after getting the J&J vaccine.


➤AMBER HEARD RECOUNTS ALLEGED VIOLENT INCIDENTS IN TEARFUL TESTIMONY: Amber Heard recounted several violent incidents with Johnny Depp while on the stand Thursday, including a sexual assault that allegedly occurred in Australia shortly after they were married.

A tearful Heard detailed the time she claims he violated her with a glass bottle. She told the jury, “I didn't know if the bottle that he had inside me was broken. I couldn't feel it. I didn't feel pain, I didn't feel anything. I looked around and I saw so much broken glass I didn't know if he would know if it was broken or not and I remember thinking please 'God please, I hope it's not broken.'”

The Aquaman star also told the jury that Depp was insanely jealous. She says he accused her of having affairs with costars like Eddie Redmayne and James Franco and testified that he nearly broke her nose after the 2014 Met Gala because he thought she was flirting with another woman.

While on the stand, Heard also recalled accusing Depp of cheating on her with a woman he had been with years prior. She said she immediately confronted the actor and admitted that she took a swing at him - and landed her first blow – right before he hit her back.

A spokesperson for the Pirates of the Caribbean actor issued a statement Thursday saying, "As Mr. Depp's counsel correctly predicted in their opening statements last month, Ms. Heard did indeed deliver ‘the performance of her life' in her direct examination," the statement read. "While Ms. Heard's stories have continued to grow new and convenient details, Mr. Depp's recollections have remained exactly the same throughout the six painful years since her first allegations were made."

Heard’s team issued their own statement saying that Depp and his legal team are unable to “distinguish fact from fiction.” They added, "Mr. Depp's behavior in this trial has been as pitiful as it was in their marriage. Apparently, they feel they must double-down on their demonstrably losing two-part strategy: distract the jury and demonize the victim."

💰30-YEAR MORTGAGE RATE NOW HIGH SINCE 2009:   If you're looking to buy a home using a mortgage, it's continuing to keep getting more expensive, with the key 30-year mortgage rate reaching 5.27 percent, up from 5.1 percent last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported yesterday, its highest point since 2009. One year ago, it was 2.96 percent. The increase was in the week before the Federal Reserve announced an increase in the benchmark interest rate by a half-percentage point and signaled more hikes are coming as they try to tame high inflation, which will bring even higher costs for mortgages. The rising rate adds to difficulties prospective home buyers are already facing of high home prices amid a tight supply. Because of those factors, some economists suggest the red-hot housing market could calm down this year with as much as a 10 percent fall in home sales from 2021.

📺GOP SENATORS URGE TV CONTENT RATINGS:  Five Republican U.S. senators sent a letter to the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board Wednesday urging that it "update" its guidelines to indicate to parents if a show has content related to sexual orientation or gender identity. The letter from Senators Roger Marshall of Kansas, Mike Lee of Utah, Mike Braun of Indiana, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, and Steve Daines of Montana said, "In recent years, concerning topics of a sexual nature have become aggressively politicized and promoted in children’s programming, including irreversible and harmful experimental treatments for mental disorders like gender dysphoria." The lead author of the letter, Marshall, emphasized in a follow-up email that he's especially concerned about gender dysphoria and "the promotion of cosmetic treatments" for it. When asked by the Kansas City Star for examples, Marshall named Netflix's She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

💕STUDY: THIS KIND OF FLIRTING WORKS BEST:  If you want to employ the best flirting method right off the bat you’ll want to use humor. Researchers from the US and Norway say we flirt to attract a potential partner, regardless of whether we stop before it gets that far or not, and there are many methods of flirting, but one is most effective. Researcher Leif Kennair explains, “People think that humor, or being able to make another person laugh, is most effective for men who are looking for a long-term relationship. It’s least effective for women who are looking for a one-night stand. But laughing or giggling at the other person’s jokes is an effective flirtation tactic for both sexes.” Study co-author Rebecca Burch adds, “It’s not only effective to be funny, but for women it is very important that you show your potential partner that you think they are funny.” The researchers say while humor is very important in flirting, but you shouldn’t necessarily lead with it. Kennair says, “Smiling and eye contact are important. Then you can build your flirting skills from that base, using more advanced tactics.”

🏒NHL PLAYOFFS: Results from first-round games yesterday:
  • New York Rangers 5, Pittsburgh Penguins 2 - Series tied 1-1
  • Florida Panthers 5, Washington Capitals 1 - Series tied 1-1
  • Colorado Avalanche 2, Nashville Predators 1 (OT) - Colorado leads series 2-0
  • Dallas Stars 2, Calgary Flames 0 - Series tied 1-1

⚾METS HAVE SEVEN-RUN NINTH-INNING COMEBACK TO BEAT PHILLIES 8-7: The New York Mets stunned the Philadelphia Phillies last night with a seven-run comeback in the ninth inning to win the game 8-7. The Mets had entered the ninth inning in Philadelphia down 7-1 before mounting their comeback, the first time they've trailed by at least six runs in the ninth and won since September 13th, 1997, and just the third time they've done it in franchise history.


⚾OHTANI STRIKES OUT 11, GETS TWO HITS IN FENWAY PARK PITCHING DEBUT: The Los Angeles' Angels two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani struck out 11 Boston Red Sox players last night and got two hits as he made his pitching debut at Boston's historic Fenway Park. Ohtani whiffed 11 in seven shutout innings in the 8-0 win, and one of his hits banged off left field's "Green Monster" so hard that it knocked his Number 17 out of the manual scoreboard.

🏀GRIZZLIES' BROOKS SUSPENDED ON GAME FOR FLAGRANT FOUL ON PAYTON: The Memphis Grizzlies' Dillon Brooks was suspended for one game by the NBA yesterday for the flagrant foul that led to the Golden State Warriors Gary Payton II fracturing his elbow in the Game 2 of the second-round playoff series and Brooks being ejected. Brooks hit Payton across the head in the air as he was chasing him down from behind and Payton fell hard to the floor. Brooks will miss Game 3 on Saturday, while Payton, who also suffered ligament and muscle damage, is out indefinitely.




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