Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Russia Pins Deadly Car Blast on Ukraine

Russia charged Monday that Ukrainian intelligence was responsible for the car bombing Saturday outside Moscow that killed 29-year-old TV commentator Darya Dugina, the daughter of a key ally of President Vladimir Putin, ultra-nationalst Alexander Dugin, who was widely believed to be the intended target. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said the killing was, quote, "prepared and perpetrated by the Ukrainian special services," claiming a Ukrainian citizen named Natalya Vovk carried out the bombing and then fled to Estonia. Ukraine denied responsibility, with presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak portraying the FSB's claims as fiction.

🚨THREE ARKANSAS OFFICERS SUSPENDED, PROBE LAUNCHED OVER SUSPECT'S BEATING: Three Arkansas law enforcement officers have been suspended and state police have launched an investigation after a video posted on social media showed two of them beating a suspect in the town of Mulberry while the third held him down. Governor Asa Hutchinson, who called the beating "reprehensible conduct," said the U.S. Justice Department's civil rights division also plans to conduct a separate probe. Two Crawford County sheriff deputies, Zack King and Levi White, and Mulberry police officer Thell Riddle responded to a report of a man making threats outside a convenience store Sunday. The video recorded by a bystander shows one officer punching the suspect and another hitting the man with his knee, while a third officer holds him against the ground. 


The suspect, 27-year-old Randal Worcester, was booked on charges including second-degree battery, resisting arrest and making terroristic threats. He was released Monday on $15,000 bond. Worcester is white, as are the three officers. Crawford County Sheriff Jimmy Damante said, "I hold all my employees accountable for their actions and will take appropriate measures in this matter," and Mulberry Police Chief Shannon Gregory said Sunday night that the department takes the matter "very seriously."


➤TRUMP ASKS FOR SPECIAL MASTER TO REVIEW DOCUMENTS RECOVERED FROM MAR-A-LAGO IN SEARCH: Former President Donald Trump filed a request yesterday asking a federal judge to have a neutral special master review the documents that were recovered from his Mar-a-Lago home earlier this month when the FBI executed a search warrant, and that the FBI be prevented from continuing to review the documents until such a special master inspects them. The filing seeks to have a special master who will set aside any documents covered by executive privilege, which allows presidents to withhold certain communications from being publicly revealed. CNN reported the Justice Department has already signaled its using an internal filter team to review what was recovered, to separate any documents that could be subject to privilege claims. Yesterday's court filing was the first by Trump in the two weeks since the search, in which the FBI said it recovered 11 sets of classified documents.

➤FAUCI TO STEP DOWN IN DECEMBER: Dr. Anthony Fauci announced Monday that he will leave the federal government in December after more than five decades, the 81-year-old director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases saying it was time, quote, "to pursue the next chapter of my career." Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, became a household name during the Covid-19 pandemic, and is currently a chief medical adviser to President Biden, the last of seven U.S. presidents for whom he's been a key adviser, starting with Ronald Reagan. Fauci said he plans to continue working after leaving the government, and wants to use his experience to, quote, "hopefully inspire the younger generation of scientists and would-be scientists" to consider working in public service.

➤PFIZER SEEKS REGULATORS' APPROVAL OF COMBINATION COVID VACCINE: Pfizer asked U.S. government regulators yesterday to approve its new combination Covid-19 vaccine, which includes its original vaccine plus a tweaked version to protect against the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron variants. Pfizer wants to offer the updated boosters to people age 12 and older, and the shots could be available within weeks if the Food and Drug Administration moves quickly to approve it. Moderna is expected to similarly seek approval soon for its combination booster. BA.5 is currently causing nearly all Covid infections in the U.S. and much of the world. White House Covid-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said last week, "It’s going to be really important that people this fall and winter get the new shots. It’s designed for the virus that’s out there."


➤STOCK RALLY SCREECHES TO A HALT: Wall Street’s summer rally fizzled yesterday for its worst one-day performance since June. The Dow Jones Average fell 643 points, or 1.91%, to 33,064. Stock market analysts say that traders are worried that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates even more aggressively to drive down inflation.

➤FORD CUTS 3,000 JOBS: Ford Motors is eliminating 3,000 jobs in North America and India as it retools its business for the electric vehicle era. Ford Executive Chair William Ford Junior, who inherited a big chunk of the company, has said that the company is betting its future on the new electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck.

➤LIZ CHENEY UNVEILS ANTI-MAGA PAC: Outgoing House Representative Liz Cheney has unveiled a new political action committee whose sole purpose is to block President Donald Trump and his closest supporters from gaining or regaining elected office. Her first targets include Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The Wyoming Republican’s startup cash includes about $7 million left over from her unsuccessful campaign for reelection.
 
➤PANDEMIC BOOMTOWNS FALL BACK: Across the U.S., the asking prices for homes in places that boomed during the pandemic are falling fast. According to Redfin, 21 percent of home sellers nationwide cut their asking prices in July, as rising mortgage rates squashed the market. But more home sellers reduced their asking prices in the cities that were red-hot during the pandemic. In Boise, Idaho, 69.7% of home sellers cut their prices, as did 58% in Denver and 54.8% in Salt Lake City. Other cities where more than half of sellers cut their asking prices: Tacoma, Tampa, Sacramento, Indianapolis, and Phoenix.


🏈PANTHERS QB MAYFIELD TO START IN SEASON OPENER AGAINST BROWNS: Carolina Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield will start the team's regular-season opener on September 11th against his former team, the Cleveland Browns, head coach Matt Rhule announced on the Panthers' website Monday. Mayfield, who was acquired in a trade with the Browns earlier in the offseason, beat out incumbent QB Sam Darnold for the starter's job. Ruhle said of Darnold, "Sam has worked incredibly hard, played really well for us during training camp, and will be ready to go if and when it’s needed."

🏈BRADY RETURNS TO BUCCANEERS' TRAINING CAMP: Tom Brady returned to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' training camp on Monday, after the 45-year-old quarterback took an 11-day break for personal reasons that head coach Todd Bowles said had been arranged for weeks. Brady didn't speak to the media after the practice. Bowles has said it hasn't been determined if Brady will play in the team's final preseason game on Saturday.
 
🏀BIDEN ADMIN. DISCOURAGING RODMAN FROM GOING TO RUSSIA TO HELP FREE GRINER: The administration is discouraging Dennis Rodman from going to Russia to try to help free WNBA star Brittney Griner, after the NBA Hall of Famer said over the weekend that he was planning to go. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters Monday, "We put forward a substantial proposal to Russia to seek the freedom of [detained American] Paul Whelan or Brittney Griner. We believe that anything other than negotiating further through the established channel is likely to complicate and hinder those release efforts." Price also stressed that if Rodman does go to Russia, he wouldn't be doing so on behalf of the U.S. government, and said the administration has strongly advised U.S. citizens against traveling to Russia, including because of the threat of wrongful detention.

🏈TWO INDIANA STATE FOOTBALL PLAYERS KILLED IN CAR CRASH: Indiana State University said in a statement Monday that two freshman members of the football team were among three students killed in a car crash early Sunday morning. Two other members of the team who were injured in the crash were out of intensive care, but remained in serious condition. The vehicle they were in went off a state highway and hit a tree in the town of Riley, about 10 miles from the university’s Terre Haute campus. Vigo County Sheriff John Plasse said the vehicle was on fire when deputies arrived.

🏈COWBOYS MOST VALUABLE NFL FRANCHISE FOR 16TH STRAIGHT YEAR: The Dallas Cowboys have topped Forbes' annual ranking of the most valuable NFL franchises for the 16th straight year, valued at $8 billion. Coming in second on the list released Monday is the New England Patriots, with a $6.4 billion value. Rounding out the top five are the Los Angeles Rams in third with a $6.3 billion value, the New York Giants in fourth with a $6 billion value, and the Chicago Bears in fifth at $5.8 billion. In last place as the least valuable team is the Cincinnati Bengals, at $3 billion. NFL franchises are now worth an average of $4.47 billion, up 28 percent from 2021.

➤DALLAS AREA HIT BY 1-IN-1,000 TEAR FLODDING: Streets and highways around Dallas remained water-logged on Monday afternoon, after flash floods struck the Dallas-Fort Worth area overnight. Signs of flooding lingered even after the rain had mostly cleared from the metroplex.







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