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Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Wake-Up Call: 13 Dead As Russian Jet Crashes Into Housing


A Russian warplane crashed Monday into a residential area in a Russian city on the Sea of Azov after suffering engine failure, leaving at least 13 people dead, three of whom died when they jumped from upper floors of a nine-story apartment building to escape a massive blaze. A Su-34 bomber came down in the port city of Yeysk after one of its engines caught fire during takeoff for a training mission, the Russian Defense Ministry said. It said both crew members bailed out safely, but the plane crashed into a residential area, causing a fire as tons of fuel exploded on impact.

After hours of combing through the charred debris of the building, authorities said 13 residents, including three children, were found dead. Another 19 were hospitalized with injuries.

Vice governor of the region, Anna Menkova, said three of the four victims died when they jumped from the upper floors of the building in a desperate attempt to escape the flames, according to the RIA-Novosti news agency.  The authorities reserved emergency rooms at local hospitals and scrambled medical aircraft. Over 500 residents were evacuated and provided with temporary accommodations.


The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed about the crash and dispatched the ministers of health and emergencies along with the local governor to the site. Yeysk, a city of 90,000, is home to a big Russian air base.

Surveillance cam videos posted on Russian messaging app channels showed a plane exploding in a giant fireball. Other videos showed an apartment building engulfed by flames and loud bangs from the apparent detonation of the warplane's weapons.

Monday's accident marked the 10th reported non-combat crash of a Russian warplane since Moscow sent its troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24. Military experts have noted that as the number of Russian military flights increased sharply during the fighting, so did the crashes.

➤BIDEN TO CALIFORNIANS, GAS HAS ALWAYS BEEN 7 DOLLARS A GALLON: Twitter users had a field day with President Joe Biden after he told a reporter that gas has "always" been $7 a gallon in California. A reporter asked Biden, "The inflation report is out. Have you seen gas prices around here in LA? It’s 7 bucks a gallon almost." The President replied, "Well, that’s always been the case here."   Biden similarly came under fire for comments he made to reporters on Saturday.



➤U-S HEADED FOR RECESSION: The US economy falling into recession within the next 12 months is a virtual certainty, according to the latest Bloomberg Economics forecast model released on Monday. The dire projection surfaced just weeks before national midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. Just one week ago, an embattled President Biden insisted a recession was unlikely and said any downturn would be “very slight” if it does occur.

Bloomberg Economics’ latest statistical projections showed a 100% probability of a recession within the next 12 months as the US economy contends with decades-high inflation, Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and mounting geopolitical tensions. The likelihood of a recession was 65% in the Bloomberg model’s most recent previous update.


➤PRIME DAY NOT SO: Amazon’s second Prime Day sale came and went with a whimper last week, according to an analysis by Bank of America.  The Seattle-based e-commerce giant generated just $5.7 billion in revenue from last week’s Prime Early Access sale — falling well short of the $7.5 billion that the company recorded in July for its first Prime Day sale.  Klover, the commerce data firm, said that transaction frequency from last week’s event was 30% lower compared to the first sale, according to CNBC.  The market research company Numerator did a study which found that the average spend per order during the recent Prime Day event was $46.68 — down significantly from the $60.29 for the first Prime Day.  Numerator found that those who shopped both the Prime Early Access sale last week and Prime Day earlier this year, 64% spent the same or less last week while just 36% spent more last week.


CHRISTIAN TEACHER ALLEGEDLY FIRED FOR NOT READING LGBT BOOKS TO KIDS: A Christian teacher filed a lawsuit against her former employer for allegedly being fired because she refusing to read LGBT themed books to the children. In the lawsuit, Nelli Parisenkova accused the school of harassing and mistreating her because of her strong, religious beliefs and objections to the content of the literature. Parisenkova is suing the child care center for disparate treatment, failure to accommodate, wrongful termination, harassment, failure to prevent discrimination and harassment, retaliation, and constructive discharge.


MARYLAND JUDGE DEEMS DIGITAL AD TAX UNCONSTITUTIONAL: The digital advertising tax was struck down Monday in Maryland after Judge Alison Asti sided with Comcast and Verizon, finding that the policy violated the First Amendment, the Internet Tax Freedom Act, and the Dormant Commerce Clause. Asti said, "By only taxing advertising when it is served digitally, the tax discriminated against e-commerce and violated the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act."  Asti’s written opinion on the case, which will detail more information on how it violated the First Amendment, is expected in the coming days.

➤AMAZONIANS ARE NOT STAYING LONG WITH AMAZON: In 2021, only a third of Amazon's new hires stayed with the company for more than 90 days before getting fired, quitting or being laid off. Amazon is having serious issues keeping employees and not just at the warehouse level. The issue is widespread throughout the company, from entry level roles all the way up to vice presidents. While Amazon definitely seems to have issues with people leaving, it’s also faced criticism for how it manages layoffs as well. It'll be interesting to watch the numbers after the holiday's new hires.

🎥NETFLIX POSTPONES DOCUMENTARY ON PRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN MARKLE: According to Deadline, Netflix has decided to postpone the release of its documentary series about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle until next year. The series was unofficially slated to premiere on the streaming platform in December, but Netflix changed its course following criticisms from a former British prime minister about the fifth season of The Crown. “They’re rattled at Netflix and they blinked first and decided to postpone the documentary,” a source told the outlet.

➤STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS APPLICATION FORMALLY OPENS: After weeks of waiting, student loan borrowers can finally apply for President Joe Biden’s program to receive up to $20,000 in debt cancellation. The application officially launched on Monday after the Education Department opened the form over the weekend as part of a beta test. Biden’s plan is to cancel as much as $10,000 in federal student loan debt for people earning less than $125,000 a year, or less than $250,000 for married couples. Those who received Pell Grants, federal aid for lower-income students, could see up to $20,000 forgiven. So far, eight million people have applied for the forgiveness program.


➤STUDY: SOUNDS DURING SLEEP COULD HELP YOU FORGET YOUR TRAUMATIC MEMORIES: Do you sometimes remember something embarrassing you did as a kid...while you're trying to sleep? A University of York study found that playing sounds during sleep could help you remember or forget certain memories. The small study involved 29 participants learning word pairs and found a correlation between memory and playing sounds during slow-wave sleep. While most people want to boost their memory, this study showed selective forgetting is also possible. For people with trauma issues, this research could lead to new therapies. "Though still a long way off, our discovery could potentially pave the way to new techniques for weakening those memories that could be used alongside existing therapies," Dr. Bardur Joensen said.

🏈DAK PRESCOTT EXPECTED TO RETURN VS LIONS ON SUNDAY: Looks like the Dallas Cowboys will be getting their starting quarterback, Dak Prescott, back before Sunday's matchup against the Detroit Lions. Dak has been missing in action since week 1 when he injured his hand vs the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said Monday that “the anticipation is for Dak to be cleared today or tomorrow.”

🏈PANTHERS TRADE ROBBIE ANDERSON TO ARIZONA: The Arizona Cardinals traded for wide receiver Robbie Anderson on Monday after Cardinal's wide receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown suffered a foot injury that will sideline him for at least 6 weeks. Arizona will pay reportedly pay the $690,000 prorated portion of Anderson's base salary as well.

🏈BILLS SAFETY JORDAN POYER TOOK 15 HOUR CAR RIDE TO PLAY THE CHIEFS: Nothing was going to stop Bills safety Jordan Poyer from playing the Kansas City Chiefs. Poyer wasn’t cleared to fly with the team due to a lingering rib injury. The Bills provided a Mercedes-Benz sprinter van for Poyer and his family to make the nearly 1,000-mile car ride from Buffalo to Kansas City. If you are wondering, that's about a 15-hour road trip!

🏈COMMANDERS CARSON WENTZ TO MISS 4-6 WEEKS WITH INJURY: The Washington Commander's starting quarterback Carson Wentz will miss some time after suffering a fractured ring finger on Sunday. Wentz reportedly underwent surgery on Monday, he had also reportedly been dealing with a strained biceps tendon since Week 5.


🏀CHARLOTTE HORNETS JAMES BOUKNIGHT ARRESTED FOR DWI: Charlotte Hornets guard James Bouknight was arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired over the weekend by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. The second-year Hornet was arrested at 1:51 a.m. on Sunday, was later released on $2,500 bond and attended practice with the team Hornets on Monday.

➤SCORES:   NFL: Denver Broncos 16 vs Los Angeles Chargers 19
MLB: Cleveland Guardians vs New York Yankees  Postponed due to rain





➤FREEZE ALERT:  The coldest air so far this fall is invading a widespread area of the Midwest, South and East, placing millions at risk of frosts and freezes this week as a powerful storm system also brings rounds of snow, rain and gusty winds from the Great Lakes to the Northeast.  A strong low-pressure system being tracked by the FOX Forecast Center is responsible for ushering in the widespread chilly air mass, which could make it all the way to the Gulf Coast by midweek. This early-season cold snap will provide the lowest temperatures since April in many areas, with more than 180 million people estimated to see temperatures of at least 10 degrees below average on Tuesday and Wednesday. The cold air started to move into the country out of Canada on Monday, and Tuesday and Wednesday are when the chill will be felt by nearly the entire eastern half of the nation.

“Part of the reason why this is happening is because we have a dip in the jet stream,” FOX Weather meteorologist Jason Frazer said. “That is essentially allowing all of that cold, Canadian air to sneak down.”


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