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Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Johnson Survives 'No Confidence' Vote

Daily Express 6/7/22
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived a no-confidence vote yesterday, getting enough support in the balloting by lawmakers from his own Conservative Party to remain in office. Johnson got the support of 211 of 359 Conservative lawmakers in the secret ballot, more than the majority needed to stay in power. However, the 148 votes against him leaves him weakened. Johnson, who has been in power since 2019, has been damaged by the revelations that he and his staff held illegal parties during pandemic lockdowns when people in the country were being told not to socialize.
 
➤PROUD BOYS EX-LEADER AND FOUR OTHER MEMBERS CHARGED WITH SEDITIOUS CONSPIRACY OVER JAN. 6TH: Henry "Enrique" Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group, and four other members were charged yesterday with seditious conspiracy over the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, for what federal prosecutors say was a coordinated attack to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory. The indictment alleges that Tarrio and Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola conspired to forcibly oppose the lawful transfer of power. It charges they held meetings and communicated over encrypted messages to plan for the attack in the days before January 6th, and on that day, they dismantled metal barricades at the Capitol and mobilized, directed and led members of the crowd into the building. The indictment came days before the January 6th House committee will begin its public hearings on Thursday night.


➤AP: RUSSIA HAS BEGUN RETURNING BODIES FROM MARIUPOL STEEL PLANT: Russia has begun returning the bodies of Ukrainian fighters who were killed at the sprawling steel plant in the city of Mariupol, which Ukrainian forces defended for nearly three months before ultimately surrendering in May, the Associated Press reported yesterday. Dozens of bodies have been removed from the plant in the now Russian-occupied city and been moved to Kyiv, where DNA testing is being done to identify the remains. The recovery of the remains from the plant hasn't been announced by the Ukrainian government or by Russian officials, but AP said it spoke to relatives of soldiers killed at the plant about the process.


Meanwhile, fighting continued in the streets of Sievierodonetsk for control of the key eastern city in the Donbas region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces were holding their positions in the city amid fierce fighting. Zelenskyy also said Russia wants to take the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, telling reporters yesterday, "there is the most threatening situation" in the region. AP said the city's capture could let Russian forces advance closer to the center of Ukraine and severely weaken Ukraine's standing in the war.

Gov. Hochul
➤N.Y. GOV. SIGNS LAW RAISING AGE TO BUY SEMIAUTOMATIC RIFLES TO 21: New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation yesterday raising the age to buy a semiautomatic rifle in the state to 21. That was one of several public safety bills passed by state lawmakers that Hochul signed, including one tightening New York's "red flag" law that allows courts to temporarily take away guns from people who might be a threat to themselves or others, and another restricting sales of bullet-resistant vests and armor to people in certain professions. The new laws were passed in the wake of the mass shooting in a supermarket in the city of Buffalo in the state last month that left 10 people dead, as well as the Texas school shooting 10 days later in which 19 children and two teachers were killed. Both massacres were carried out by 18-year-old gunmen using semiautomatic rifles.

➤JUDGE DELAYS TRIAL OF TWO EX-OFFICERS IN GEORGE FLOYD CASE FOR MONTHS: The Minnesota judge overseeing the case of two former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd delayed their trial Monday for seven months until next January over concerns about them currently being able to get a fair trial. Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng were set to go on trial next week on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd's May 2020 death. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill said media reports and recent events surrounding connected cases have created a, quote, "reasonable likelihood of an unfair trial" if it were to begin next week. He cited the guilty plea last month by Thao and Keung’s co-defendant, former Officer Thomas Lane, as well as the February convictions of Thao, Kueng and Lane on federal charges of violating Floyd’s civil rights. The ex-officers were with former Officer Derek Chauvin when he kneeled on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes, leading to his death. Chauvin was convicted last year on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges and sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison.


➤HEIRS' BRING LAWSUIT AGAINST 'TOP GUN: MAVERICK': Top Gun: Maverick, the new sequel to 1986's Top Gun, has been doing very well at the box office, but the heirs of the author of a 1983 magazine article on which the original film was based have filed a lawsuit over it. Ehud Yonay wrote the article about the Navy Fighter Weapons School known as Top Gun at Naval Air Station Miramar in California and Paramount quickly optioned it, using it as the basis for the first film and giving Yonay "based on" credit. But now the late Yonay's heirs claim Paramount no longer owns the copyright and shouldn't have released a sequel. The US Copyright Act allows authors to retrieve the rights to their works after 35 years, and Yonay's widow and son filed a notice to reclaim the rights to the article in 2018, and they say Paramount was notified. They say the rights reverted to them in 2020. Paramount has promised to "vigorously defend" itself against the allegations, contending the film was "sufficiently completed" by January 2020, before copyright reverted to the Yonays. The suit is seeking damages, and an injunction to stop screenings and any further distribution of the movie.

💸SURVEY...AMERICANS TIPPING LESS:  Americans are tipping less than they used to before the pandemic, according to a new survey from CreditCards.com. It found that the amount of Americans who say they "always tip" fell in 2022 compared to 2019 for sit-down restaurants, food delivery people, taxi and rideshare drivers, hotel housekeepers and coffee shop baristas. Only for hairstylists and barbers did more Americans say they tip now than did in 2019. CreditCards.com senior industry analyst Ted Rossman cited a combination of inflation limiting what customers can buy and short-staffed businesses having a harder time providing the best service as being behind the change.



🏒VALANCHE BEAT OILERS 6-5 IN OT FOR SWEEP, ADVANCE TO STANLEY CUP FINAL: The Colorado Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 on a goal by Artturi Lehkonen at 1:19 into overtime last night in Edmonton, completing the 4-0 sweep in their Western Conference Final to advance to the Stanley Cup Final. Colorado rallied from being down 3-1 going into the third period, scoring four of the six goals scored in the third. The Avalanche will be playing for the NHL championship for the first time since 2001, facing the winner of the Eastern Conference Final between the New York Rangers and two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning that New York leads 2-1. Game 4 is tonight.

 
🏌MICKELSON WILL PLAY IN SAUDI-FUNDED LIV GOLF LEAGUE: Phil Mickelson, a six-time major championship winner, announced Monday that he will play in the new Saudi-funded LIV Golf league that's a rival to the PGA Tour. Mickelson will be in the LIV Golf Invitational that starts Thursday outside London, with Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia also among prominent golfers who will be playing in it. Mickelson, who is returning from a four-month hiatus, said in a statement on social media, "I am ready to come back to play the game I love but after 32 years this new path is a fresh start, one that is exciting for me at this stage of my career." The PGA Tour didn't grant releases for any of its 14 members who have signed up for the rival series, and they are likely to face suspensions by the PGA if they haven't resigned, which at least six players have.

🏈RAMS' DONALD RETURNING WITH BIG BUMP IN PAY: Defensive tackle Aaron Donald of the L.A. Rams will be staying with the Super Bowl champions, and is getting a big bump in pay via a reworked contract through 2024 to do so. The Rams announced yesterday that Donald would be returning, but didn't diclose terms of the new deal. However, the NFL Network reported he's getting a $40 million raise that will make him the highest-paid defensive player in the league. The 31-year-old Donald, who's widely consiered to be the most dominant defensive player in the NFL, had been considering retirement.

🏒BRUINS FIRE HEAD COACH CASSIDY: The Boston Bruins have fired head coach Bruce Cassidy, with general manager Don Sweeney announcing the new last night, calling it "an extremely difficult decision." Cassidy's dismissal came three weeks after the Bruins lost in the first round of the NHL playoffs. However, he'd led the team to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019 and the best record in the league the next year, and they've made the playoffs every season since he took over in February 2017.

🏈24TH WOMAN FILES LAWSUIT ACCUSING BROWNS QB WATSON OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT: A 24th woman filed a lawsuit Monday accusing Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual misconduct during a message. The women filing the suits are all massage therapists. The latest suit charges that Watson exposed himself and masturbated during a massage, and says the woman stopped being a massage therapist because of the incident and now suffers from depression and anxiety. Watson has denied any wrongdoing, and two grand juries declined to indict him in March on criminal complaints related to the allegations. However, the NFL is still investigating and he faces possible discipline by the league.





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