Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Wake-up Call: Putin Mobilizing Reserves

RUSSIA MOVES TO ANNEX PARTS OF UKRAINE: Russian-backed officials in four parts of Ukraine that are at least partially under Russian control have announced that they will hold referendums asking citizens whether they would like their regions to be annexed by Russia. The voting results, which are unlikely to be free and fair, would allow Russia to claim the territory as its own and justify an extreme military response to any opposition. The strategy suggests Russia’s willingness to escalate its war on Ukraine despite recent setbacks.

On Wednesday,  Putin announced a “partial mobilization” of troops in an address to the nation on Wednesday, framing the move to call up reservists as an attempt to defend Russian sovereignty against a West that seeks to use Ukraine as a tool to “divide and destroy Russia.”  His speech comes as Ukraine is in the midst of a counteroffensive.

➤HURRICANE FIONA GATHERING STRENGTH: Hurricane Fiona blasted the Turks and Caicos Islands last night after causing widespread damage in Puerto Rico. The storm was turning north and gaining strength as it approached Bermuda with winds up to 115 miles per hour. Two more storm systems were reported to be forming in the Atlantic.

FEMA, the U.S. emergency agency, has sent hundreds of its personnel to Puerto Rico to assist in the cleanup there. Floodwaters are beginning to recede but parts of the island are still threatened with flash floods, mudslides and collapsed bridges. Many residents still don’t have power or clean water.


➤FRAUDSTERS STOLE $250 MILLION MEANT FOR KIDS’ MEALS: The Department of Justice has charged 47 people with stealing $250 million from a federal COVID relief program intended to provide meals to needy children in Minnesota. The defendants set up a network of shell companies connected to a Minnesota nonprofit and claimed repayment for thousands of nonexistent meals. The investigators said it is the largest COVID-related fraud uncovered so far.

➤MOSQUITO FIRE BLAZES ON: People living near the Mosquito fire, California’s biggest wildfire of the season so far, are facing a bizarre combination of risks. Rain showers that began on Sunday have helped firefighters reduce the fire’s size a bit but also increased the risk of mudslides on the hillsides denuded of vegetation. Enough of the fire has been contained to permit residents of several towns to return to their homes this week. The fire has burned through more than 76,000 acres of land near Lake Tahoe and was 39 percent contained as of last night.

💸WALL STREET ON THE BRINK: Stock traders are holding their breath today waiting for the Federal Reserve to announce an expected three-quarters of a point increase in the federal funds rate. The Fed also will give their forecast for inflation. Anticipating what the Fed will do has knocked down stock prices lately. Yesterday alone, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 313 points to close at 30,706.

➤SENATE CANDIDATE SAYS HE’S NOT THAT SMART: Herschel Walker, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from Georgia, is setting a very low bar for his upcoming debate against incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock. At a press conference, the former football player said: “I’m this country boy. I’m not that smart. And he’s that preacher. He’s a smart man, wears these nice suits.” Recent polls show a close race between Walker and Warnock.


👑MEGHAN MARKLE REPORTEDLY REQUESTS A ‘ONE-ON-ONE’ WITH KING CHARLES: Meghan Markle has reportedly asked King Charles III for a “one-on-one” meeting before she and Prince Harry leave the UK, following Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. According to royal expert Neil Sean, the Suits actress is hoping to “clear the air.”  Sean said in a YouTube video, “She’d now like, before they return back to California, to have a one-to-one audience with King Charles III.”

“That’s right, Meghan one-to-one with King Charles III. You heard correct,” he said.  The royal expert claimed that Markle made the request via a “formal letter” and that she hopes to get “an opportunity to clear the air, put the rights from wrongs and explain some of the rationale behind what they’ve been doing over the last two years.”

➤ANTI-WOKE INVESTOR URGES DISNEY TO STAY OUT OF POLITICS: An outspoken critic of so-called “woke capitalism” is publicly urging corporate giants Apple and Disney to keep politics out of their business. Vivek Ramaswamy, the founder of investment firm Strive Asset Management, demanded that Apple and Disney prioritize profits while avoiding political discourse that could tarnish their brands.  Strive has acquired stakes in each company since launching earlier this year with a mandate to challenge the corporate emphasis on environmental, social and governance standards, otherwise known as “ESG.” Ramaswamy, who authored a best-selling book titled “Woke, Inc.” argued that Disney’s decision to wade into political debates, such as the kerfuffle over Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, risked financial harm to shareholders with little to no benefit to the company’s bottom line.


➤VEGGIE BURGER EXEC NOT AVERSE TO CANNIBALISM: The chief operating officer of a company that makes vegetarian burgers has been charged with “terroristic threatening” after a University of Arkansas football game on Saturday. Doug Ramsey is accused of biting a man’s nose during an argument over a fender-bender in a parking garage. He has been suspended from his job at Beyond Burger until the case is resolved.
➤HERE'S HOW TO HARNESS WILLPOWER TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS: Are you having trouble with willpower? Some new habits can help! Social psychologist Roy Baumeister recommends starting small: Like by making your bed each day. Stress and sleep-deprivation make it harder to make good decisions. Meditation and seven hours of sleep per night are habits that can help strengthen your resolve. Planning ahead and avoiding triggers are also good ways to avoid depleting the willpower you have. This can include not keeping temptations within arm's reach, or deciding to make a certain number of tough choices a day, and saving the rest for a time when you feel stronger.

➤GIANT ALLIGATOR TOWED OUT OF ROAD: When you’re a 12-foot alligator, you hang out wherever you like. Officers in Harris County, Texas, had to call in an alligator wrangler to capture and restrain the gator who was discovered relaxing in the middle of a road. Then a tow truck was needed to lift the beast into a pickup truck and haul it to a local animal control official.

⚾JUDGE TIES THE BABE:  Aaron Judge hit his 60th home run of the season, tying Babe Ruth and moving within one of Roger Maris’ American League record 61, in the bottom of the ninth to start the Yankees 9-8 comeback win over the pirates on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. Longtime Yankees broadcasters John Sterling and Michael Kay may have exhibited more emotion after the historic long ball than Judge himself.



🏒NHL’S $100 MILLION MAN: Nathan MacKinnon has become the highest-paid player in the NHL on signing an eight-year, $100.8 million contract extension with the Colorado Avalanche. The deal edges out the $100 million deal signed in 2017 by Edmonton Oilers Captain Connor McDavid. MacKinnon gets much of the credit for the Avalanche winning their first Stanley Cup in 21 years by defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in June.

🏈49ERS ADD ONE MORE QB: The San Francisco 49ers are adding Kurt Benkert to their practice squad to complete the lineup of quarterbacks they need to replace Trey Lance, now out for the season, according to NFL Media. Jimmy Garoppolo is filling in as starting quarterback, with Brock Purdy next in line.

🏈SCARY INJURY FOR BUFFALO BILLS’ JACKSON: Buffalo Bills cornerback Dane Jackson is out of the hospital but is still being evaluated after a very scary neck injury sustained in Monday night’s game against the Tennessee Titans. Jackson was seen with his neck bent back in an awkward position after a collision with Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds in the first half. In a statement, the Bills said that there had been no major injury to his neck or spinal cord.

🏌GREG NORMAN DISINVITED TO GOLF EVENT HE FOUNDED: Things continue to be very testy between the PGA Tour and its upstart rival LIV Golf. LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman has been disinvited to this year’s QBE Shootout, an annual charitable event he founded and has hosted and played in every year since 1989. The Shootout is a co-sanctioned PGA Tour event. In an announcement on Instagram, Norman did not say who had asked him not to attend.

⚾MASTER OF ART OF BASE-STEALING DIES: Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Maury Wills, known as a master of the art of base-stealing, has died at his home in Sedona, Arizona, at the age of 89. Wills joined the Dodgers in June 1959. In 1962, he stole bases 104 times, breaking a record set by Ty Cobb in 1915. He was named the league’s most valuable player in 1962.
 



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