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Monday, August 29, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Russia, Ukraine Accuse Each Other of Nuke Attacks


Russia and Ukraine each accused the other Sunday of carrying out rocket and artillery strikes at or near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Fears are continuing to grow that the attacks could cause a disastrous massive radiation leak from the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Russia claimed Sunday that Ukrainian forces attacked the plant twice over the past day and that shells fell near buildings storing reactor fuel and radioactive waste. Meanwhile, the regional governor said heavy fighting overnight left parts of Ukrainian-controlled Nikopol nearby without electricity. AP said neither side's claims could be independently verified. Russia took control of the plant soon after its invasion of Ukraine, and they also hold adjacent territory along the left bank of the Dnieper River. Ukraine controls the right bank, including the cities of Nikopol and Marhanets. The U.N.’s atomic energy agency has tried to negotiate an agreement with Ukraine and Russia to send a team to inspect and secure the plant.


➤U.S. SAILS WARSHIPS THROUGH TAIWAN STRAIT FOR FIRST TIME SINCE PELOSI'S VISIT: The U.S. sailed two Navy warships through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday in what was called a routine transit, the first publicly known time that U.S. warships have done so since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan earlier this month. China, which claims Taiwan as its own, was furious about Pelosi's visit, and conducted many military exercises in the strait afterward in response. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on CNN yesterday that sending the ships sent a, quote, "very clear message, very consistent message . . . that the United States Navy, the United States military will sail, fly and operate wherever international law permits us to do so." The U.S. regularly sends Navy ships through the strait.

➤FOUR SHOT RANDOMLY, THREE FATALLY, BY DETROIT SHOOTER: Detroit police were looking for a suspect Sunday after four people were shot, three of them fatally, by someone who appeared to be firing at people at random over two-and-a-half hours Sunday morning. All four shootings were traced to one weapon and police believe there was just one shooter. Among the victims, one was walking a dog and another was waiting for a bus. The FBI, Department of Homeland Security and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were aiding in the search.

➤EVICTED TEXAS MAN KILLS THREE TENANTS, WOUNDS TWO OTHERS: A Houston man who was evicted from an apartment building killed three tenants and wounded two others early Sunday morning after he set fire to the house to lure them out. The gunman shot at the tenants as they ran out around 1 a.m., and then opened fire on the firefighters battling the blaze. The firefighters had to take cover until police fatally shot the gunman. No firefighters or police were wounded. The gunman's identity has yet to be released, but neighbor Robin Ahrens told the Houston Chronicle that the man was unemployed and had colon cancer, and was recently told he was being evicted because he was behind on his rent.

➤8:40 AM UPDATE...NASA POSTPONES ARTEMIS 1 LAUNCH AFTER ISSUES EMERGE DURING COUNTDOWN:  NASA delayed the debut of its towering moon rocket Monday after issues emerged during countdown, postponing the launch from the Kennedy Space Center. The agency was slated to launch its Artemis I mission during a two hour-long launch window that opened at 8:33 a.m. ET, sending the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule on a more than month-long journey around the moon. But with under two hours to go in the countdown, NASA was troubleshooting issues identified with the SLS rocket.


➤FACEBOOK PARENT META SETTLES CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA LAWSUIT: Facebook's parent company Meta has reached a tentative settlement of a lawsuit alleging that Facebook allowed the personal information of millions of its users to be given to Cambridge Analytica, which used the data in support of Donald Trump’s successful 2016 presidential campaign. Terms weren't disclosed in the court documents filed late Friday. The settlement was reached less than a month before a September 20th deadline for Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and long-time chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, to submit to depositions. It was revealed in 2018 that Cambridge Analytica paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of about 87 million Facebook users, which was then used to target U.S. voters during the 2016 election. The lawsuit had been seeking to be certified as a class action representing Facebook users.

➤CHRISTIE'S TO AUCTION $1 BILLION-PLUS ART COLLECTION OF MICROSOFT CO-FOUNDER PAUL ALLEN: Auction house Christie's and the estate of late Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen announced Friday that Christie's will auction some 150 artworks from Allen's collection this fall that are expected to bring in more than $1 billion in all. All the proceeds will go to philanthropic causes. Highlights in the collection, which Christie's said ranges from Old Masters to the giants of modern art, including Paul Cézanne’s "La Montagne Sainte-Victoire," estimated to sell for more than $100 million, and Jasper Johns’ "Small False Start," estimated at $50 million. Allen died from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2018.

✞ROLAND MESNIER, WHITE HOUSE PASTRY CHEF FOR FIVE PRESIDENTS, DEAD AT 78: Roland Mesnier, who was the White House executive pastry chef for five presidents, died on Friday, the White House Historical Association confirmed. He was 78. Mesnier was one of the longest-serving White House chefs hired originally in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter's wife, First Lady Rosalynn Carter, and serving under Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush before retiring under the latter Bush's administration. The French-born Mesnier said in 2004 when asked about working at the White House, "You don’t think about free time, spare time, etc. . . . Any time you are needed you have to be there. It could be Christmas day, Easter, your birthday, your mother’s birthday, your child’s birthday . . . The White House always comes first."

‘THE INVITATION’ TAKES NO. 1 SPOT AT THE DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: The horror film The Invitation took the top spot at the domestic box office over the weekend, with just $7 million. Deadline reports that this was the lowest-grossing weekend yet this summer, with $54 million for all movies—explaining how a movie with a 'C' CinemaScore is leading the chart.

Box Office Numbers from Friday thru Sunday:
1. The Invitation, $7 million
2. Bullet Train, $5.6 million
3. Beast, $4.9 million
4. Top Gun: Maverick, $4.75 million
5. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, $4.544 million
6. DC League of Super-Pets, $4.225 million
7. 3,000 Years of Longing, $2.876 million
8. Minions: Rise of Gru, $2.74 million
9. Thor: Love and Thunder, $2.7 million
10. Where the Crawdads Sing, $2.32 million

➤NYC MAN ASKS FIRST DATES TO FILL OUT EXIT SURVEY ON HIM, THE DATE: After one 27-year-old New York City man goes on first dates, he asks the women to fill out an online exit survey to rate him and their date. Google program manager Devon Loucks, who moved to New York a little over a year ago from San Francisco, wasn't having any luck dating, getting ghosted or having dates fail to show up. So he decided to try something different. The survey says, "I’ve created this survey to help reflect on our dating experience and allow you the chance to pinpoint highlights and lowlights throughout our time together." Among the questions, he asks them to rate the date overall, and then weigh in on more specific things, such as whether they enjoyed the conversation, or if they like the "vibe" at his house, or why they didn't go back to his apartment. He told the New York Post, "Some girls didn’t like the idea of a survey at all. Ohers were like, 'Oh, my God, this is iconic.'" Loucks has regularly been seeing a woman for the past few weeks who filled out one of his surveys. She said about it, "It just made me realize you cared enough about the date to want feedback about it."


🏌MCILROY WINS FEDEX CUP: Rory McIlroy won the Tour Championship yesterday at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta to take the Fedex Cup for the third time. McIlroy rallied from being six shots behind, and Scottie Scheffler, who'd been in the lead, ended up tied with Sungjae Im in second place one shot back.

🏈COMMANDERS ROOKIE ROBINSON SHOT IN WASHINGTON: Washington Commanders rookie running back Brian Robinson Jr. was shot during an attempted robbery or carjacking yesterday evening, according to the NFL team. The Commanders said the 23-year-old was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, and head coach Ron Rivera tweeted, "He is in good spirits and wanted me to thank everyone for their kind words, prayers & support." Washington, D.C., police said they were looking for two possible suspects.

⚾HAWAII TEAM WINS LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES: The team from Honolulu, Hawaii, won the Little League World Series on Sunday in Williamsport, PA, beating the Curacao team 13-3. The win came in just four innings, as under Little League rules, a team wins if it is leading by 10 runs or more after four innings. Hawaii starter Jaron Lancaster pitched all four innings, allowing three runs, three hits and striking out 10. Hawaii's scoring was sparked by back-to-back home runs from Kekoa Payanal and Kama Angell in the first inning. The championship was Hawaii's fourth.

 
🏈BILLS RELEASE ROOKIE PUNTER ARAIZA AFTER GANG RAPE ALLEGATION: The Buffalo Bills released rookie punter Matt Araiza on Saturday, two days after he and two of his former San Diego State teammates were accused in a civil lawsuit of gang rape of a 17-year-old girl at an off-campus party last October. Bills general manager Brandon Beane said Saturday night, "With the serious nature and allegations, and we just can't, we don't have the means to put all the facts together." Araiza said in a statement Friday, "The facts of the incident are not what they are portrayed in the lawsuit or in the press." Araiza's attorney, Kerry Armstrong, told ESPN that his client spoke with the girl at the party, but that the rape allegations are "just untrue." A criminal investigation into the allegations is ongoing. Araiza was chosen by the Bills in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft in April.

⚾ASTROS ACE VERLANDER LEAVES GAME WITH CALF DISCOMFORT: Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander, a leading candidate for the American League Cy Young Award, left Sunday's game against the Baltimore Orioles after three scoreless innings due to discomfort in his right calf. The Astros went on to win 3-1. Houston manager Dusty Baker said after the game, "He's going in for some imaging [Monday]. He felt that -- when he was covering first base -- that it was his calf. And that is the best of bad news. We were really glad that it wasn't anything to do with his arm or elbow or anything like that."

🎾SERENA, VENUS WILLIAMS TO FACE CZECH TEAM IN FIRST ROUND OF U.S. OPEN DOUBLES: If the U.S. Open that begins today really will be the last tournament of Serena Williams' career, she's going out playing both singles and doubles, teaming up with sister Venus Williams. The double brackets announced yesterday (August 28th) show that the Williams' sisters will face the Czech team of Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova in the first round. This will be the first doubles event together for the Williams sisters since the 2018 French Open. They have won 14 Grand Slam championships as a doubles team.


⚾MICKEY MANTLE CARD SELLS FOR $12.6M, NEW SPORTS MEMORABILIA RECORD: A mint condition 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle baseball card sold for $12.6 million yesterday via Heritage Auctions, setting a new record for sports memorabilia. The previous record, set just a few months ago, was $9.3 million for the jersey worn by soccer star Diego Maradona when he scored the "Hand of God" goal in the 1986 World Cup.  The rare Mantle card was sold by Anthony Giordano of New Jersey, who bought it for just $50,000 at a New York City show in 1991.














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