Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Wake-UP Call: Russia Blames Ukraine For Attack On Airfields


Russia accused Ukraine of sending drones to attack two airfields used by Moscow’s long-range bombers hours before the Kremlin launched a wave of missile attacks. Two aircraft were damaged while three service personnel were killed and four wounded when the drones crashed after being intercepted by air-defenses, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said in a statement late Monday. Russian air forces later conducted strikes with air- and sea-launched missiles against energy and communications infrastructure in Ukraine, it said.


Ukraine hasn’t confirmed it carried out the attacks at the bases in Saratov and Ryazan regions, southeast of Moscow, that are at least 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the border between the two countries. That would make them the deepest strikes inside Russia since President Vladimir Putin launched his Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.  The airfields are home to strategic aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Russia’s military has waged a campaign of missile and drone assaults against critical infrastructure in Ukraine in recent weeks aimed at cutting power, heating and water supplies to civilians during winter, prompting an international outcry and accusations that it is committing war crimes. 

➤U-S MODIFIED ROCKET LAUNCHERS SENT TO UKRAINE: The U.S. secretly modified the Himars rocket launchers it gave Ukraine to keep Kyiv from firing missiles into Russia. U.S. officials said it was done to reduce the risk of a wider war with Moscow. Since June, Washington has supplied Ukrainian forces with 20 Himars and many satellite-guided rockets with a range of almost 50 miles. The alterations prevent the launchers from firing long-range missiles that can travel nearly 200 miles. The Pentagon, the White House and the Ukrainian military declined to comment.

➤FED CONSIDERING RAISING RATES: Brisk wage growth may lead the Fed to consider raising its rate above 5% in 2023. The central-bank officials signaled plans to raise their benchmark interest rate by 0.5 percentage point at their Dec. 13-14 meeting, which would bring it to a range between 4.25% and 4.5%, the highest level since December 2007. Last month saw the Fed’s fourth consecutive 0.75-point rate rise. The balancing act: Too small of an increase and inflation resurges and too much of a hike and you’ve got unnecessary economic weakness. It takes time for interest-rate changes to slow the economy and even longer to influence inflation.

➤COPS RULE OUT ALLEGED STALKER LEAD: Idaho police Monday publicly cleared as suspects two men involved in a “stalker reference” that may have been made by slain University of Idaho student Kaylee Goncalves. The city of Moscow Police Department revealed that investigators identified an incident at a local business in mid-October “which may have been the stalker reference (Goncalves) made to friends and family.” Two men were seen inside the unnamed business and as they parted ways, one of them appeared to follow Goncalves after she left to go to her car, police said. But “the male turned away, and it does not appear he made any contact with her,” police said in a Monday news release. Detectives contacted both men who told them they were trying to meet women at the business. Their story was corroborated through further probing, police said.



➤FLORIDA EX-CONGRESSMAN ARRESTED OVER SECRET CONTRACT WITH VENEZUELA: A former Miami congressman who signed a $50 million consulting contract with Venezuela’s socialist government was arrested Monday on charges of money laundering and representing a foreign government without registering. David Rivera, a Republican who served from 2011 to 2013, was arrested at Atlanta’s airport. The eight-count indictment alleges he was part of a conspiracy to lobby on behalf of Venezuela to improve U.S.-Venezuela relations, resolve an oil company legal dispute and end U.S. economic sanctions against the South American nation but without registering as a foreign agent.


➤AVENATTI SENTENCED TO 14 YEARS IN CALIFORNIA FRAUD CASE: Lawyer Michael Avenatti, who rose to fame representing porn star Stormy Daniels against Donald Trump, was sentenced in California on Monday to 14 years in prison for cheating clients out of millions of dollars. Avenatti was also fined $10 million by U.S. District Judge James V. Selna. The judge said Avenatti’s sentence in Southern California will be served after he finishes a five-year term for separate convictions in New York.

➤TAMPA'S TOP COP RESIGNS: Tampa Mayor Jane Castor announced on Monday she has accepted the resignation of Police Chief Mary O'Connor after she was caught on body camera pulling rank on a deputy to get out of a traffic stop. The police chief was sitting in the passenger seat of a golf cart driven by her husband, Keith, when Pinellas County Sheriff's Deputy Larry Jacoby caught them driving on a road without a license plate last month. Body camera footage showed how she tried to pull rank on the deputy and told him she was 'hoping that you'll just let us go tonight.' Jacoby ultimately let her and her husband off. Assistant Police Chief Lee Bercaw will now serve as the interim police chief as the mayor conducts a nationwide search for O'Conner's replacement.


➤MALL OF AMERICA SETTLES LAWSUIT OVER BOY THROWN FROM BALCONY: The Mall of America in suburban Minneapolis said Monday that it will toughen its trespassing policies as part of a settlement with the family of a boy who was severely injured when a man with a history of causing disturbances at the mall threw the child from a third-floor balcony. Additional details of the settlement were not released by the boy’s family or the mall.

💻NYC KILLS 'INTERNET MASTER PLAN' FOR UNIVERSAL PUBLIC WEB ACCESS: Two and a half years after it was announced that New York City would spend $157 million to build municipal broadband infrastructure in poor neighborhoods, city officials have quietly canceled the plan. The expansion, which no longer exists, was the second phase of the 2020 Internet Master Plan, a massive endeavor launched during the de Blasio administration that aimed to connect 1.2 million New Yorkers to free or low-cost, high-speed internet. The project had been on hold this year, after Mayor Eric Adams assumed office.

🧒PFIZER ASKS FDA TO CLEAR UPDATED COVID SHOT FOR KIDS UNDER 5: Pfizer is asking U.S. regulators to authorize its updated COVID-19 vaccine for children under age 5, not as a booster but part of their initial shots. Children ages 6 months through 4 years already are supposed to get three extra-small doses of the original Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, each a tenth of the amount adults receive, as their primary series. If the Food and Drug Administration agrees, a dose of Pfizer's bivalent omicron-targeting vaccine would be substituted for their third shot.


➤CONSUMING ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS COULD INCREASE DEMENTIA RISK: People could be at a higher risk for dementia if more than 20% of their daily caloric intake is ultra-processed foods. According to the study published Monday in JAMA Neurology, the part of the brain involved in processing information and making decisions, or executive functioning, is particularly impacted by the risk of cognitive decline. People who consumed the most ultra-processed foods recorded a 28% faster rate of global cognitive decline and a 25% faster rate of executive function decline compared to those who ate the least amount of overly processed foods.


🏈NFL MNF:  Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17 New Orleans Saints 16 


⚾PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES AND SS TREA TURNER REACH 11-YEAR $300M DEAL: Shortstop Trea Turner and the Philadelphia Phillies agreed on an 11-year, $300 million contract on Monday. Phillies add the best power-speed player in baseball to an already-potent lineup. The deal includes a full no-trade clause and no deferred money. It also ties Turner to the Phillies through the 2033 season and is the 10th $300 million-plus contract in baseball history.

⚾NEW YORK METS AND P JUSTIN VERLANDER REACH 2-YEAR $86M DEAL: Three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander agreed to a two-year, $86 million deal with the New York Mets on Monday. The deal comes with a vesting third-year option in 2025 is for $35 million. Verlander turns 40 this upcoming February.

🏀NIKE OFFICIALLY TERMINATES PARTNERSHIP WITH KYRIE IRVING​: After initially suspending its partnership with Kyrie Irving and scrapping the release of his upcoming Kyrie 8 signature shoe last month, Nike confirmed Monday that it has fully cut ties with the Brooklyn Nets point guard. Irving's signature endorsement agreement with the company was set to expire on October 1, 2023 but was abruptly suspended eleven months before expiring after Irving posted a link on social media to a book and movie containing antisemitic messaging.

🏈CAROLINA PANTHERS WAIVE STRUGGLING QB BAKER MAYFIELD: The Carolina Panthers waived quarterback Baker Mayfield on Monday. This decision comes almost five months after the Panthers traded a conditional 2024 fifth-round pick to the Browns for Mayfield. Mayfield finished his Panthers tenure with career-lows in completion percentage (57.8 percent), yards per game (187.6) and only six touchdowns with six interceptions.

🏀FAN MATCHES DRAYMOND GREEN FINE WITH $25,003 IN TEAMS FOUNDATIONS: The fan who exchanged words with Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green in Dallas, which resulted in Green being fined $25,000, has donated $12,500 to the Dubs Community Foundation and $12,503 to the Mavs Foundation. Dallas resident Alykhan Rehmatullah identified himself as the fan involved, and pledged to match Green's fine and donate money to the charity of Green's choice.

⚽WORLD CUP: Japan 1 vs Croatia 1 (Croatia advances on penalties 3-1), Brazil 4 South Korea 1



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