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Monday, October 17, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Russia Using Iranian Drones Over Kyiv


Russia launched another attack on Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, using explosive Iranian drones to hit the city early Monday, one week after it unleashed a deadly missile barrage on the capital and other cities across the country that killed at least 19 people. The booms that reverberated across Kyiv center were a reminder that even as Russia’s military faces setbacks on the battlefield in northeastern and southern Ukraine, it retains the ability to strike back at the heart of the capital, putting civilians and infrastructure at risk.

Russia is literally grabbing men off the street and enlisting them into the military to fight in Ukraine, according to Washington Post reporters. "At a predawn sweep on the Mipstroy1 construction company dormitories on Thursday, they took more than 200 men. On Oct. 9, they rounded up dozens at a Moscow shelter for the homeless." The story includes video of the construction company raid, along with diners approached by police at a Moscow restaurant.





➤ELON MUSK JUMPS INTO GEOPOLITICS: Elon Musk has said on Twitter that he prefers to stay out of politics. But at the same time that the billionaire is waging his on-again, off-again effort to buy the social media platform, he has been wading into sensitive political issues in the U.S. and beyond. In recent weeks he has weighed in on Russia’s war against Ukraine and China’s standoff with Taiwan. That followed a year in which the Tesla Inc. chief executive fired off tweets on the domestic sphere that, among other things, took swipes at both the current and previous U.S. presidents and said he was leaning toward supporting Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, as a potential candidate for the 2024 White House race. Musk’s $44 billion proposal to buy Twitter Inc.—which he reanimated this month after trying for months to terminate the deal—could draw him further into politics if it is completed. (WSJ)


➤CHINA'S LEADER STRIKES A DEFIENT NOTE: Xi Jinping defended his hard-line reign on Sunday, presenting himself to a congress of China’s ruling elite as the leader whose tough policies had saved the nation from the ravages of the pandemic and was now focused on securing China’s rise amid multiplying global threats. Xi, who is poised to claim a groundbreaking third term as leader at the end of the weeklong Communist Party congress, used his opening report to argue that his decade in power had brought historic gains. He pointed to the party’s campaign against corrupt officials, its cleanup of the environment and its crackdown on antigovernment protesters in Hong Kong as key victories. He described Chinese foreign policy as a series of successes in fending off Western “bullying” and protectionism, apparently referring to disputes over human rights, technology and Beijing’s claim on Taiwan. But his praise was coupled with a somber warning that the nation must stand united behind the party to cope with a world he depicted as increasingly turbulent — and hostile. (NYT)

➤BODYCAM FOOTAGE RELEASED IN BRISTOL SHOOTOUT: Chilling bodycam footage captures the moment a wounded Bristol cop shoots dead the crazed Connecticut man who fatally gunned down two other officers. The dramatic police video includes the sound of bullets flying and a woman hysterically screaming in the background while police Officer Alec Iurato, who is already wounded by cop killer Nicholas Brutcher, limps around the side of the attacker’s Redstone Hill home, gun in hand, as he radios for backup. “Shots fired, shots fired,” Iurato is heard telling the dispatcher. “More cars. Send everyone. Officer shot, officer shot,” he says, grunting in pain on the video.

➤CHARLES MANSON FOLLOWER'S PAROLE BLOCKED BY CA GOVERNOR: California Gov. Gavin Newsom denied parole of cult leader Charles Manson's follower Patricia Krenwinkel last Friday. Newsom overruled the recommendation for her release citing "still poses an unreasonable danger to society if paroled at this time." The denial marked the 15th time her parole was unsuccessful.

➤CHINA ORDERS ONE MILLION PEOPLE TO STAY HOME AFTER COVID FLARE UP: One of the most populated districts in Zhengzhou locked down almost 1 million residents due to a Covid flare up. The order to stay at home came on Monday, but residents were exempted from the lockdown when they needed to undergo Covid testing. China is sticking to the Covid Zero pillars of lockdowns and mass testing to control the biggest flare up in 2 months, despite the heavy cost.

➤DADS SHOOT AT EACH OTHER IN TRAFFIC INJURING EACH OTHER'S DAUGHTERS: Two dads are facing attempted murder charges after a road rage incident went to a shootout, injuring each other's daughters in the process. The Nassau County Sherriff's office confirmed the two men, William Hale and Frank Allison, were charged for the incident that took place October 8th. According to Fox5, police began getting calls about shots being fired around 6p on the October 8th. A witness told officers they saw a black Dodge Ram and a gray Nissan Murano driving carelessly, at times driving in front of each other and slamming the brakes. The chase came to an end when a patrol car pulled them over but by then the shots had been made. One bullet hit a 5 year old girl in the leg in one vehicle, the other vehicle was hit by three bullets with one bullet hitting a 14 year old in the back causing a collapsed lung.

➤THOUSANDS PROTEST IN THE STREETS OF PARIS DUE TO SOARING PRICES: Thousands of protestors took to the streets of Paris on Sunday after weeks of strikes at oil refineries for higher wages. The four unions have called the protests to help protect the right to strike, after the government ordered the requisitioning of some oil refinery workers, a move seen by unions as a violation of their constitutional rights.

NY Post 10/17/22

💲401 STATEMENTS CAN BE SCARY:
 Have you taken a peek at the balance in your 401(k) retirement accounts lately? Here’s our advice: Don’t bother. It will ruin your whole day, week and month. Here’s why: We’ve now had seven straight months of 8%+ inflation. A year ago we were assured by the White House economic wizards that these rapid price increases in everything from groceries, to rental cars, to gasoline at the pump, to health insurance were merely “transitory.” Whoops. The most immediate sticker shock from Bidenflation, of course, has been to shrink real take-home paychecks of workers. This rise in consumer prices over wages means that the average family in America has lost nearly $6,000 in purchasing power. This from the Lunch Bucket Joe president who promised to help boost the incomes of the middle class. When, exactly? But this pay-cut effect on family incomes is only part of the curse of runaway inflation.

➤CANCER VACCINE COULD BE HERE BY 2030: The co-founders of BioNTech, the biotechnology company that partnered with Pfizer to develop the vaccine shot against Covid-19 is predicting that a cancer vaccine could be available within the next decade. The cancer vaccine would be built upon breakthroughs achieved by the scientists during the development of the Covid-19 shot.

🎮VIDEOGAMES MAY TRIGGER CARDIAC ARREST IN CHILDREN; STUDY FINDS: According to an international study, video games could trigger a potentially fatal cardiac episode in children with existing heart conditions. The study examined 22 incidents where children between the ages of 7 and 16 year of age that experienced an irregular heartbeat that was either proven or suspected, and lost consciousness while playing video games. Sadly, 6 of those children suffered a cardiac arrest and 4 of those children passed away.

📱FIRST GENERATION IPHONE COULD FETCH $30,000 IN AUCTION:
A first generation iPhone from 2007 is currently on the auction block where the auction house listing the phone estimates it could sell for over $30,000. The 8gb iPhone, still unopened in it's original box, cost $599 back when it was first released which means it could sell for 50 times it's original price. The auction started at $2,500, as of the writing of the article it had 16 bids where the top bid is $10,446

🎥HALLOWEEN ENDS’ FALLS SHORT OF EXPECTATIONS AT DOMESTIC BOX OFFIC:  Halloween Ends topped the box office over the weekend, but according to Deadline, the film fell short of its expected $50 to 55 million, pulling in just $41.2 million. Some speculate that this is due to the film’s simultaneous release on Peacock. Meanwhile, NBCUniversal said Halloween Ends has become the most-watched series or film on the streaming platform over a two-day period.  Box Office Numbers from Friday (October 14th) through Sunday (October 16th):
1. Halloween Ends, $41.2 million (right)
2. Smile, $12.4 million
3. Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, $7.4 million
4. The Woman King, $3.7 million
5. Amsterdam, $2.89 million
6. Don’t Worry Darling, $2.185 million
7. Barbarian, $1.4 million
8. Bros, $900,000
9. Terrifier 2, $850,000
10. Top Gun: Maverick, $685,000


✞ROBBIE COLTRANE DIES AT 72: 
Robbie Coltrane (right), the Scottish actor who played Hagrid in the Harry Potter series, died on Friday (October 14th) at the age of 72. Coltrane’s agent, Belinda Wright, said in a statement, “As well as being a wonderful actor, he was forensically intelligent and brilliantly witty, and after 40 years of being proud to be to called his agent, I shall miss him.” Along with Harry Potter, Coltrane starred in two James Bond films: GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough. He also won three consecutive BAFTA best television actor awards for his work in the British series Cracker. Many stars from the Harry Potter franchise took to social media to honor the late actor, including J.K. Rowling, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint.

🧠STUDY: WOMEN HAVE BETTER MEMORY THAN MEN: It's a battle of the sexes! A University of Bergen study has confirmed that women remember more words than men, but the advantage is slight. "The female advantage is consistent across time and life span, but it is also relatively small,” researcher Marco Hirnstein said. The team analyzed data from over 350,000 participants, making it one of the largest studies on the mental capabilities of men and women.  Knowing this baseline relative to biological sex could help in diagnosing medical conditions like dementia.

➤STUDY: THESE SPORTS ARE BETTER FOR YOUNG BONES:  Is your child thinking of playing a sport? A recent study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise suggests multidirectional sports are better for bones. Multidirectional sports, like soccer or basketball, require players to move in many directions, unlike track. Research found that women who participated in both running and multidirectional sports in their childhood had 10% to 20% greater bone strength compared to those who only ran. The study also found specializing in one sport at a young age increased risk of injury. Author Stuart Warden suggests waiting until freshman year of high school to specialize in one sport.

🏈NFL SCORES:
  • Baltimore Ravens 20 vs New York Giants 24
  • Jacksonville Jaguars 27 vs Indianapolis Colts 24
  • New England Patriots 38 vs Cleveland Browns 15
  • Cincinnati Bengals 30 vs New Orleans Saints 26
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers 18 vs Pittsburgh Steelers 20
  • San Francisco 49ers 14 vs Atlanta Falcons 28
  • New York Jets 27 vs Green Bay Packers 10
  • Minnesota Vikings 24 vs Miami Dolphins 16
  • Carolina Panthers 10 vs Los Angeles Rams 24
  • Arizona Cardinals 9 vs Seattle Seahawks 19
  • Buffalo Bills 24 vs Kansas City Chiefs 20
  • Dallas Cowboys 17 vs Philadelphia Eagles 26
MNF: Broncos at Chargers 8:15 East

MLB: New York Yankees 4 vs Cleveland Guardians 2

⚾ASTROS MARINERS TIE FOR LONGEST GAME IN MLB POSTSEASON: Saturday's 18-inning ALDS game between the Houston Astros and the Seattle Mariners tied for the longest postseason game in Major League history. Rookie, Jeremy Pena, hit a solo homerun in the top of the 18th inning prevented the game from breaking the record, but other records were made during the history ballgame. When the first out was recorded in the bottom of the 15th inning, it marked the longest a playoff game had gone without a run being scored. The game had a record 42 combined strikeouts and was the third longest game played in terms of time, clocking in at a 6 hours and 22 minutes run time.

 

🏈TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS TE BRATE CARTED OFF THE FIELD AFTER HIT ON SUNDAY:
Scary scene in Pittsburg as Tampa Bay Buccaneer's tight end Cameron Brate was injured after suffering a helmet to helmet hit on Sunday. This was Brate's first game back in two weeks after suffering a concussion two weeks ago. The Steelers said he is able to move all of his extremities and Cameron Brate was able to give a thumbs-up as he was leaving the field in a stretcher.


Daily Mail Composite 10/17/22

🏈BRADY RANTS: 
Tom Brady has been mocked on social media after launching into a foul-mouthed rant at his under-performing Tampa Bay teammates following reports he and his supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen have hired divorce lawyers. Some have speculated that the couple's issue involves Brady's decision to return to the NFL after a brief off-season retirement, and Bundchen has made it clear that she has sacrificed for their family and his career. The supermodel, who has not attended any Bucs games this season, took the lead on hiring an attorney and the NFL star followed while 'figuring out what to do,' according to People.

🥊DEONTAY WILDER WINS BY 1ST ROUND K.O. IN BROOKLYN: The Bronze Bomber, Deontay Wilder is back after beating Robert Helenius in the 1st round on Saturday at Barclays Center. During  the post fight interview, the former heavyweight champion said, "Deontay Wilder is back." as well claiming "The excitement in the heavyweight division is back." The WBC is expected to order a fight between Deantay Wilder and Andy Ruiz Jr. as the next eliminator showdown.

🏀FORMER NBA DUNK CHAMPION ANNOUNCES BATTLE WITH KIDNEY FAILURE: Longtime NBA fan favorite Nate Robinson announced he has privately been battling kidney failure for 4 years on Saturday. The former NBA champion said in a statement "I'm sharing this now because I want to be the voice for all those who are having trouble speaking about this illness and come together for a greater cause, our health." Nate Robinson won the NBA Slam Dunk contest 3 times as a member of the New York Knicks back in 2006, 2009 and 2010.

🏀NBA HALL OF FAMER RECEIVING BRAIN TUMOR TREATMENT: Dikembe Mutombo is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor, the NBA announced on Saturday on behalf of Mutombo and his family. According to the statement, the beloved NBA player and global ambassador for the NBA is "receiving the best care possible from a collaborative team of specialists and is in a great spirits." Dikembe Mutombo ranks second in NBA history for career blocks.




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