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Monday, July 11, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Many Killed In Russian Rocket Strike in Ukraine


At least 15 people had been killed and more than 20 were believed trapped Sunday in a Russian rocket attack that hit apartment buildings in Chasiv Yar in Ukraine's Donetsk region late Saturday. Three buildings were destroyed whose residents were mostly people who worked in nearby factories. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the Russians of intentionally targeting civilians, saying in his nightly address Sunday, "Anyone who orders such strikes, everyone who carries them out in ordinary cities, in residential areas, kills absolutely consciously. After such hits, they won’t be able to say that they didn’t know or didn’t understand something."


➤BLINKEN DELIVERS U.S. CONDOLENCES IN JAPAN OVER ABE'S ASSASSINATION: Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered U.S. condolences to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Monday over the assassination Friday of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Blinken, who was in Indonesia for a Group of 20 foreign ministers meeting when Abe was shot, gave Kishida a letter from President Biden to Abe's family. Blinken said, "We simply want them to know that we deeply feel the loss on the personal level as well." Meanwhile, it was reported that the suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, told investigators he was motivated by his hatred of a religious group that he blamed after his mother went bankrupt after making donations to them. His mother was a member of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, also known as the Unification Church, and while Abe didn't belong to the church, he gave paid speeches at church-related events, and church members were a reliable voting bloc for his Liberal Democratic Party.

➤BIDEN MAY DECLARE PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY FOR ABORTION ACCESS: President Biden said yesterday (July 10th) that he's considering declaring a public health emergency to make federal resources available to promote abortion access, saying he's asked officials to, quote, "look at whether I have the authority to do that and what impact that would have." Speaking to reporters during a stop on a bike ride in Delaware, Biden said his administration is trying to do a, quote, "lot of things to accommodate the rights of women" after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. However, AP notes that White House officials have questioned the legality and effectiveness of declaring a public health emergency. Biden also had a message for those angered by Roe being overturned, saying, "Keep protesting. Keep making your point. It’s critically important."


➤BANNON NOW WILLING TO TESTIFY TO JAN. 6TH COMMITTEE: Steven Bannon, who was chief White House strategist in the early months of Donald Trump's administration and remains a Trump ally, has told the House Committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol that he's now willing to testify. Bannon is facing criminal charges after defying a subpoena from the committee for months. Bannon has argued that he was protected from having to testify by Trump claiming executive privilege, however the committee has questioned that claim because Trump fired Bannon from his White House position back in 2017, so he was a private citizen when he was consulting with Trump ahead of the January 6th, 2021, Capitol attack. The committee will hold its next televised public hearing on Tuesday afternoon, with a prime time hearing planned for Thursday evening.


➤WILDFIRE BEING BATTLED THAT THREATENS YOSEMITE'S GIANT SEQUOIAS: Firefighters were battling a wildfire yesterday threatening the largest grove of giant sequoia trees in Yosemite National Park as it more than doubled in size in a day. Campers and residents of the community of Wawona near the Washburn Fire were evacuated, but the rest of the California national park remained open. There were no reports of severe damage to any named trees in the famed Mariposa Grove, and officials were hoping that a sprinkler system set up in the grove kept the tree trunks moist.


➤POLL..MOST GUN OWNERS FAVOR MODEST RESTRICTIONS, BUT DON'T TRUST GOVERNMENT: A new NPR/Ipsos survey of gun owners found that the overwhelming majority favor some modest restrictions on gun rights, including universal background checks (80 percent), raising the minimum age to buy guns to 21 (67 percent for all guns, 72 percent for assault-style rifles), and "red flag" laws to prevent potentially dangerous people from owning guns (65 percent). But most of them are against banning AR-15-style semiautomatic weapons (55 percent) -- although Democratic gun owners are in favor -- and doubt new gun control measures would stop mass shootings (61 percent), with Republicans again more likely to feel this way. Additionally, some of them, Republican gun owners in particular, think passing new gun laws is a slippery slope towards taking all guns away. Overall, 56 percent said it's more important to protect gun rights than control gun violence, but there was a major partisan divide, with 80 percent of Republican gun owners saying this, while nearly 90 percent of Democratic gun owners said controlling gun violence should be the priority.

👼PRODUCTION RESUMES AT ABBOTT BABY FORMULA FACTORY: Production has resumed at the Abbott baby formula factory in Sturgis, Michigan, whose shutdown in February over contamination contributed to a national baby formula shortage, and then had to shut down again in June two weeks after restarting production due to damage from severe thunderstorms. A spokesperson said production of EleCare, a specialty formula for infants with severe food allergies and digestive problems, was restored, and that they are "working to restart Similac production" as soon as they can. Abbott is one of just four companies that produce about 90 percent of U.S. formula.

🔥HISTORIC 338-YEAR-OLD HOTEL ON NANTUCKET DESTROYED BY FIRE: A historic, 338-year-old hotel on the island of Nantucket in Massachusetts was destroyed by a fire Saturday. All guests of the Veranda House Hotel were safely evacuated, and the fire department said no civilians were injured. Four firefighters were taken to the hospital for reasons including heat exhaustion and a back injury, with three released the same day, and one discharged Sunday. It took more than 14 hours for the fire to mostly be extinguished, after it also caught two other buildings on fire. All three buildings were described as being "total losses."



🎥‘THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER’ BRINGS THE HAMMER DOWN AT THE BOX OFFICE: Thor: Love and Thunder had a strong opening at the box office, bringing in $143 million. Deadline reports that the movie is now Marvel’s 12th-best opening, behind Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2 at $146.5 million. This weekend also marked the best debut for the Thor franchise overall.

Box Office Numbers from Friday through Sunday:

1. Thor: Love and Thunder, $143 million
2. Minions: Rise of Gru, $45.55 million
3. Top Gun: Maverick, $15.5 million
4. Elvis, $11 million
5. Jurassic World: Dominion, $8.4 million
6. The Black Phone, $7.66 million
7. Lightyear, $2.9 million
8. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, $340,000
9. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, $262,000
10. Everything Everywhere All at Once, $241,100


🎾DJOKOVIC, RYBAKINA WIN WIMBLEDON: Top-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic defeated unseeded Nick Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3) Sunday to win his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title and seventh overall, as well as his 21st Grand Slam championship. It was the first Grand Slam final for the 40th-ranked Kyrgios of Australia. Djokovic won't be playing in the next Grand Slam, the U.S. Open, which begins in late August, since he's not vaccinated against Covid-19, which is required to enter the U.S. Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan won the women's Wimbledon championship Saturday, defeating third-seeded Tunisian Ons Jabeur 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Both 17th-seeded Rybankina and Jabeur were making their Grand Slam final debut.


🏀TEAM WILSON WINS WNBA ALL-STAR GAME, FOCUS ON GRINER: The team led by A'ja Wilson beat the team led by Breanna Stewart to win the WNBA All-Star Game 134-112 yesterday in Chicago. A central focus during the game was Brittney Griner, the Phoenix Mercury's eight-time All-Star who's been held in Russia since February. The players all wore Griner's name and her Number 42 on the back of their jerseys for the second half of the game. Las Vegas aces guard Kelsey Plum was named MVP with 30 points for Team Wilson in her first All-Star appearance, matching the All-Star Game record held by Maya Moore, who scored 30 points in 2015.

⚾YANKEES LEAD WITH SIX ALL-STAR SELECTIONS, OHTANI ELECTED AS PITCHER AND HITTER FOR SECOND YEAR: The New York Yankees lead this year's MLB All-Star Game's selections with six, as pitchers and reserves were announced Sunday (July 10th). The Houston Astros have five All-Stars and the World Series champion Atlanta Braves also have five. Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani was elected to the American League team as both a pitcher and hitter for the second year in a row, chosen as a pitcher two days after he was elected by fans to start at designated hitter.

🏌SCHAUFFELE WINS SCOTTISH OPEN, FOURTH WIN IN 12 MONTHS: Xander Schauffele won the Scottish Open yesterday (July 10th) for his fourth win in the past 12 months. Schauffele finished at 7-under 273 at The Renaissance Club, beating fellow American Kurt Kitayama by one shot. Schauffele is now ranked Number 5 in the world ahead of the British Open, which begins later this week.

🏈FIVE-TIME PRO BOWLER DUANE BROWN ARRESTED ON GUN CHARGE AT LAX: Free-agent defensive tackle Duane Brown, who played for the Seattle Seahawks for five seasons, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport Saturday for allegedly possessing a concealed weapon. TMZ reported that the unloaded weapon was found in Brown's luggage by airport security. The five-time Pro Bowler was released on bond for the misdemeanor charge. Brown started all 17 games for the Seahawks last season.



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