Wednesday, September 7, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Safety Zone Needed For Ukrainian Nuclear Plant

The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency urged Russia and Ukraine yesterday to establish a, quote, "nuclear safety and security protection zone" around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. There have been growing fears that the fighting around the plant, which is the largest in Europe, could lead to a radioactive disaster. Days after leading an inspection visit to the plant, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told the U.N. Security Council, "We are playing with fire, and something very, very catastrophic could take place." In a report on its visit, the IAEA said shelling around the power plant should stop immediately. Both the Russians and Ukrainians have accused the other of attacks on or near the plant, but the IAEA's report didn't assign blame for the shelling. World leaders have been calling for the demilitarization of the plant, which has been occupied by Russian forces since soon after the invasion, but is being run by Ukrainian engineers.

➤TRUSS IN CHARGE AS NEW BRITISH PM: Liz Truss took over as the new British prime minister yesterday, becoming the third woman to lead the U.K. after it was announced a day earlier that she'd won a vote among dues-paying Conservative Party members to be its new leader. The 47-year-old Truss officially took office yesterday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where Queen Elizabeth the Second formally asked her to form a new government in a traditional ceremony. Outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson formally resigned during his own meeting with the queen a short time earlier, two months after had announced he was stepping down. Johnson was forced out of office by a series of scandals.

➤MEMPHIS POLICE FIND BODY OF ABDUCTED JOGGER: Tennessee police said Tuesday that they'd found and identified the body of 34-year-old Eliza Fletcher (right), a Memphis schoolteacher who was abducted while jogging early in the morning on Friday. Memphis Police Director Cerelyn Davis said Fletcher's body was found behind a vacant duplex, but that it was too early to determine how and where she was killed. U.S. Marshals had arrested 38-year-old Cleotha Abston (bottom right) on Saturday after police found his DNA on a pair of sandals found near where Fletcher was last seen. He was released from prison in 2020 after serving 20 years for another kidnapping. He has now been charged with first-degree murder, in addition to other charges.

➤UVALDE STUDENTS GO BACK TO SCHOOL FOR FIRST TIME SINCE MASS SHOOTING: Students went back to school in Uvalde, Texas, yesterday for the first time since the mass shooting at Robb Elementary school on May 24th in which 19 students and two teachers were killed. Robb Elementary itself is permanently closed and will eventually be torn down. There were added safety measures at some other schools in Uvalde, including a new eight-foot fence at Uvalde Elementary and a state trooper standing outside the front entrance. Classes resumed weeks ago in many parts of Texas, but Uvalde pushed back the first day of class. First Lady Jill Biden tweeted, "Uvalde, as you head back to school today, you are in my heart - you are so strong. We are all standing with you."

➤WHITE HOUSE HEALTH OFFICIALS: PEOPLE LIKELY TO NEED ANNUAL COVID BOOSTERS: Top White House health officials suggested yesterday that people will likely need to get an annual Covid-19 booster shot going forward, similar to getting an annual flu shot. Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a briefing, "It is becoming increasingly clear that . . . in the absence of a dramatically different variant, we likely are moving towards a path of vaccination cadence similar to that of the annual influenza vaccine, with annual updated Covid-19 shots matched to the currently circulating strains for most of the population." That messaging came after the new updated Pfizer and Moderna boosters, which target both the original virus and the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants, were approved last week. White House coronavirus response coordinator Ashish Jha said, "[T]his week marks an important shift in a fight against the virus. It marks our ability to make Covid vaccines a more routine part of our lives.


➤JUUL TO PAY NEARLY $440 MILLION TO SETTLE TEEN VAPING PROBE BY 33 STATES: Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced yesterday that electronic cigarette maker Juul Labs has agreed to pay nearly $440 million to settle a two-year investigation by 33 states into the marketing of its high-nicotine vaping products. The probe looked in Juul's early promotions, which have been blamed for leading to a surge of vaping by U.S. teens, and claims about the benefits of its e-cigarettes as a smoking alternative. The investigation found Juul marketed its e-cigarettes to underage teens after its 2015 debut with launch parties, product giveaways, and ads and social media posts that used young models. The settlement includes restrictions on how Juul can market its products, and comes after the company in 2019 dropped all U.S. advertising and pulled its fruit and candy flavors.

➤NEW MEXICO COUNTY COMMISSIONER DISQUALIFIED FROM PUBLIC OFFICE FOR JANUARY 6TH PARTICIPATION: A state district judge in New Mexico yesterday permanently disqualified Otero County commissioner Couy Griffin from seeking or holding local of federal public office for engaging in insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021. Griffin, a Republican who's a co-founder of Cowboys for Trump, was previously convicted of a misdemeanor in federal court for entering Capitol grounds on January 6th without going in the building. State District Court Judge Francis Mathew's ruling immediately removes Griffin from his position as country commissioner. He wrote, "Mr. Griffin aided the insurrection even though he did not personally engage in violence. By joining the mob and trespassing on restricted Capitol grounds, Mr. Griffin contributed to delaying Congress’s election-certification proceedings." Griffin blasted the ruling as a, quote, "total disgrace" and "perfect evidence of . . . tyranny," saying it disenfranchises his constituents in Otero County.


🏠SURVEY...MAJORITY OF MILLENNIALS, GEN Zers WHO MOVED BACK HOME DURING PANDEMIC STILL THERE: Many Millennials and Gen Z-ers moved back home with their parents during the pandemic, and a new survey from LendingTree found that the majority of them are still live there more than two years after the pandemic began. The survey of more than 1,300 U.S. parents, Millennials and Gen Zers taken in late July showed 32 percent of the younger Americans moved back in with their parents during the pandemic, and two-thirds of those still live there. More than half of them said the move back home was done out of necessity, and many are focused on paying off their debt and saving to buy a home. Just under one-quarter, 23 percent, said they moved back home to save up for retirement. Among the parents, 85 percent said they'd let their children move back in as adults or have already done so, and 73 percent said they wouldn't charge their children rent if they came back. However, the majority said they'd expect their adult children to have a job and to help with household chores.


🛫HOLIDAY WEEKEND AIR TRAVEL TOPPED PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS FOR FIRST TIME: The number of people traveling by air over a holiday weekend, as measured by how many went through U.S. airport-security checkpoints, surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the time over the just passed Labor Day weekend. More than 8.7 million passed through airport security from Friday through Monday, beating Labor Day weekend in 2019, and the Transportation Security Administration said yesterday that it was a first for a holiday weekend. Although there have been air travel delays and disruptions throughout the busy summer, there were relatively few problems over the Labor Day weekend. Tracking service FlightAware said airlines canceled some 640 flights over the four-day weekend, just 0.6 percent of the total, which was less than one-third the cancellation rate between June 1st and Labor Day, and delays were also down.
 
➤OHIO AMUSEMENT PARK TO CLOSE WORLD'S SECOND-TALLEST ROLLER COASTER: Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, announced yesterday that it will be permanently closing the Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster, the second-tallest coaster in the world. The ride has been closed since August 15, 2021, when a small metal object flew off the 420-foot tall roller coaster and hit a woman at the park in the head. Cedar Point officials didn't say if the accident influenced their decision to close the roller coaster, which operated for 19 years. A state investigation found no evidence the park acted illegally or had reason to believe the ride was unsafe. The Kingda Ka roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey is the world’s tallest at 456 feet.

 
🎾RUDD, JABEUR, INTO SEMFINALS, GAUFF OUT: Fifth-seeds Casper Rudd on the men's side and Ons Jabeur for the women have made it into the U.S. Open semifinals after winning their quarterfinal matches yesterday. Rudd of Norway defeated Number 13 Matteo Berrettini and Tunisian Jabeur beat unseeded Ajla Tomljanovic, who had defeated Serena Williams in the third round Friday in the expected end of Williams' professional career. Twelfth-seeded American Coco Gauff lost to Number 17 Carolina Garcia.

 
🏀FREE AGENT HARRELL SIGNS TWO-YEAR, $5.2 MILLION DEAL WITH 76ERS: Free agent center Montrezl Harrell is signing a two-year, $5.2 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, ESPN reported last night. ESPN cited sources as saying 76ers star James Harden played a significant role in recruiting Harrell, presenting it as a reunion of when they were on the Houston Rockets together. Harrell is also reuniting with 76ers head coach Doc Rivers and assistant Sam Cassell, under whom he was Sixth Man of the Year with the L.A. Clippers in the 2019-20 season.

⚾MLB ASKED TO ACCEPT MINOR LEAGUE UNION: MLB was asked by the players' union yesterday to voluntarily accept the union to also be the bargaining agent for minor league players. Bruce Meyer, deputy executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, which launched the minor league union drive late last month, sent a letter that claimed a majority of minor leaguers had signed authorization cards. If MLB doesn't voluntarily accept the union, signed cards from 30 percent of minor leaguers in the bargaining unit would allow the union to file a petition to the National Labor Relations Board asking for a union authorization election. MLB didn't immediately comment.

🏈STEELERS TO RETIRE FRANCO HARRIS NO. 32 AS PART OF 'IMMACULATE RECEPTION' CELEBRATION: The Pittsburgh Steelers will retire Pro Football Hall of Famer Franco Harris' Number 32 during a celebration for the 50th anniversary of the "Immaculate Reception." The former running back's number will be retired at halftime of the December 24th game against the Oakland Raiders. On the day before, the actual anniversary of the December 23, 1972, play, the Steelers will hold a ceremony at 3:29 p.m. on the marker outside the stadium in the exact spot where Harris made the legendary catch. The Immaculate Reception took place in the AFC divisional playoff game between the Steelers and the Raiders. The Steelers were trailing in the last 30 seconds when Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw threw a pass attempt to John Fuqua. The ball either bounced off the helmet of the Raiders' Jack Tatum or Fuqua's hands, and Harris caught it just before it hit the ground, running it in for a game-winning touchdown.


🌞CALIFORNIA BAKING:   A historically severe September heat wave is baking the West, breaking hundreds of records, posing a danger to public health and pushing California’s power grid to the limit. Some records have been shattered by wide margins as the scorching air mass exacerbates the fire danger in the drought-stricken region.  After San Jose and Sacramento soared to all-time records of 109 and 116 degrees Tuesday afternoon, California’s Independent System Operator (ISO) said the state’s electricity supplies were running low. It warned consumers on Tuesday evening that “rotating power outages are now possible” and raised its Energy Emergency Alert to Level 3.


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