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Monday, August 22, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Daughter of Putin Ally Killed In Car Blast


The 29-year-old TV commentator daughter of a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin was killed in a car bombing just outside Moscow, authorities said Sunday. 

Daria Dugin
The Russian Investigative Committee said initial information indicated Daria Dugina was killed by a bomb planted in the SUV she was driving Saturday night. Dugina was the daughter of Alexander Dugin, a nationalist philospher and writer often called "Putin's brain" who's a strong supporter of the invasion of Ukraine, and there was suspicions that he may actually have been the target. The bombing took place as Dugina was returning from a festival she attended with her father, and Russian media reports said the SUV belonged to Dugin and that he'd decided at the last minute to travel in another vehicle. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, denied Ukrainian involvement, saying, "We are not a criminal state, unlike Russia, and definitely not a terrorist state." Dugina had expressed similar views as her father.


➤APPEALS COURT PUTS ORDER FOR GRAHAM TO TESTIFY IN ELECTION PROBE ON HOLD: A federal appeals court on Sunday temporarily put a lower court's order on hold that required Senator Lindsey Graham to testify Tuesday before a special grand jury in Atlanta that's investigating efforts by then-President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn Trump's 2020 election loss in the state. The court also sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May to decide whether the subpoena should be partially quashed or modified because of constitutional protections for members of Congress. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' office wants to ask Graham about two calls they say he made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger after the election during which he asked about, quote, "reexamining certain absentee ballots . . . to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump." Graham’s attorneys have argued the calls were made as part of his legislative duties and the Constitution protects him from having to testify about them.

➤SOMALIA HOTEL ATTACK THAT KILLED 21 COMES TO AN END: An attack on a hotel in Somalia's capital by Islamic extremists that left 21 people dead and 117 wounded, at least 15 of them critically, was brought to an end by Somali forces on Sunday, more than 30 hours after gunmen stormed the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu on Friday evening. The Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, which has ties with al-Qaida, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying via its radio station that it came in response to Somalia's new president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who took over in May, saying that he would eliminate the extremist group from Somalia.
 

💲EDUCATION SECRETARY: STUDENT LOAN DECISION IN 'NEXT WEEK OR SO': Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said on NBC's Meet the Press yesterday that there will be a decision on student loans in the, quote, "next week or so," with a pause on federal student loan payments set to end on August 31st. He didn't give any details about what the decision would be. President Biden could potentially extend the moratorium on student loan payments, which was implemented in March 2020 due to the pandemic and which he has already extended four times, and could also possibly forgive some student debt. Biden has already canceled nearly $32 billion in student loans, mostly for borrowers who were defrauded by for-profit colleges and for permanently disabled borrowers.

➤FLOTUS OUT OF ISOLATION AFTER TWO NEGATIVE COVID TESTS: First Lady Jill Biden ended her Covid-19 isolation yesterday after testing negative in two consecutive tests, and reunited with President Biden at their Delaware beach home. It was announced last Tuesday that the 71-year-old first lady had tested positive as the couple and family members had been vacationing in South Carolina and that she had minor symptoms. She began taking the antiviral drug and isolated for five days at the home where they'd vacationed before getting her two negative results. Like her husband, who recently recovered from his own bout with Covid, the first lady was fully vaccinated and twice boosted.


➤WALMART EXPANDS ABORTION COVERAGE FOR EMPLOYEES: Walmart has expanded its employee health plan’s coverage of abortion services. The company notified employees that it will now cover abortion “when there is a health risk to the mother, rape or incest, ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage or lack of fetal viability.” The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the federal right to abortion has opened the way for states to ban the procedure.


‘DRAGON BALL SUPER: SUPER HERO’ TOPS THE DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE:  Crunchyroll’s Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero beat out Beast at the weekend box office, pulling in $20.1 million. In comparison, Beast claimed the number two spot with $11.57 million.  Meanwhile, Top Gun: Maverick became the ninth highest-grossing film ever with $1.403 billion worldwide. It also surpassed Avengers: Infinity War to claim the title for the sixth highest-grossing film at the domestic box office.

Box Office Numbers from Friday through Sunday:

1. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, $20.1M
2. Beast, $11.57 million
3. Bullet Train, $8 million
4. Top Gun: Maverick, $5.85 million
5. DC League of Super-Pets, $5.77 million
6. Thor: Love and Thunder, $4 million
7. Nope, $3.55 million
8. Minions: Rise of Gru, $3.52 million
9. Where the Crawdads Sing, $3.15 million
10. Bodies Bodies Bodies, $2.4 million

➤REGAL CINEMAS MAY GO BANKRUPT: The second-largest movie chain in the U.S. is said to be teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. The British company that owns Regal Cinemas is considering filing for bankruptcy protection, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. There are about 500 Regal Cinemas across the U.S. The company blames a slow recovery from the pandemic combined with a lousy slate of new movies.


➤RUSSIANS TRY TO CLONE STARBUCKS: Whatever their opinion may be about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian citizens seem to miss their Starbucks coffee. A pair of entrepreneurs has opened a Moscow clone of the coffee shop to fill the void that opened when the American coffee chain abandoned its Russian stores. It’s called Stars, and the logo features a very familiar mermaid wearing a Russian headdress.

➤WHEN DINOSAURS ROAMED TEXAS: They say everything’s bigger in Texas, and that apparently has been true for millions of years. The drought conditions that are drying up the Paluxy River have uncovered massive clawed footprints left by dinosaurs that once roamed the region. The footprints are near Dinosaur Valley State Park, north of Fort Worth, but they’re bigger and better-preserved than most that have been seen.

🏀RODMAN SAYS GOING TO RUSSIA TO TRY TO HELP GET GRINER RELEASED: NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman said yesterday that he plans to go to Russia to try to help get WNBA star Brittney Griner released. She's been held since February and was sentenced earlier this month to nine years in prison for drug possession. Rodman, who's visited North Korea several times, including for leader Kim Jong Un's birthday, and who called Russian President Vladimir Putin "cool" in 2014, told NBC News, "I got permission to go to Russia to help that girl. I’m trying to go this week." He also said, "I know Putin too well." The U.S. has reportedly proposed a prisoner swap for Griner and another American imprisoned in Russia, Paul Whelan, for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year prison term in the U.S.

🏈BOWLES: BRADY EXPECTED TO RETURN TO BUCS EARLY THIS WEEK: Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said Sunday that quarterback Tom Brady is expected to return to the team this week, saying, "It'll be this week, early." Brady has been away from the Bucs since August 11th for what's been called "personal things," with Bowles saying it was something agreed to weeks ago. The coach said a decision hasn't been made yet on whether Brady will play in this week's third and final preseason game, saying, "We'll see how practice goes and we'll make those decisions at the end of the week."

🏀HEAT'S HASLEM RETURNING FOR 20TH SEASON: The Miami Heat's Udonis Haslem announced yesterday that he's returning for a 20th NBA season, after Miami offered him a one-year, $2.9 million deal and left it for the 42-year-old forward to decide if he would return or retire. Haslem, a three-time NBA champion with Miami, was the oldest player in each of the past two NBA seasons. He joins Kobe Bryant of the L.A. Lakers and Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks as the only NBA players to play 20 or more seasons for a single franchise.

⚾YANKEES RETIRE PAUL O'NEILL'S NUMBER 21: The New York Yankees retired Paul O'Neill's Number 21 on Sunday, making him the 23rd player or manager in the storied franchise's history to be so honored. The 59-year-old O'Neill, a four-time World Series champion with the Yankees, hit .303 with 185 homers and 858 RBIs for the Yankees from 1993 to 2001, and retired after the 2001 season. The Yankees entered yesterday's game with 14 losses in their past 18 games, and there were noticeable boos for managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner and general manager Brian Cashman during the ceremony. The Yankees went on to win yesterday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2.



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