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Monday, January 16, 2023

Wake-Up Call: 68 Dead In Nepal Plane Crash

A plane making a 27-minute flight to a Nepal tourist town crashed into a gorge Sunday while attempting to land at a newly opened airport, killing at least 68 of the 72 people aboard. 

One of those killed in the Nepal plane crash was Moscow travel blogger Elena Banduro, 33, (inset). She posted excitedly about her latest trip showing her on a plane with the message in English: 'Go to Nepal'. Her social media was today full of messages of condolences, and she was described as 'the brightest, kindest soul we knew'. Police have confirmed at least 68 people were killed today when a domestic flight crashed into a gorge while landing at a newly opened airport in the central resort town of Pokhara.


➤FAMILIES SPENDING MORE FOR FOOD:
As inflation continues to decimate the budgets of American families, the December report from Moody's Analytics showed that families are spending an estimated $72 more on food per month than they were a year ago. That figure is pulled out of a report that says the typical US household is shelling out $371 on goods and services more than they were a year ago. That figure has fallen since inflation hit its peak in June, when families were spending a whopping $502 more than they were a year prior, but is still disturbing the abilities of Americans to keep up with their bills.

➤RECESSION SAID TO BE APPROACHING: Leading economists are warning that a recession is coming in the near future, despite the Biden administration's attempts to downplay the risks. Lakshman Achuthan and Anirvan Banerji, cofounders of the Economic Cycle Research Institute — which determines recession dates for 22 global economies — say the United States is on track to face another recession like the one in 2008. They said in an op-ed for CNN that the Biden administration's efforts to quash an impending economic downturn have come too late. And even though the GDP grew in the last quarter of 2022 and the economy added more jobs , Achuthan and Banerji say that will soon change. The Economic Cycle Research Institute has been predicting a recession since last spring, and Achuthan and Banerji say that prediction has not changed despite the Federal Reserves' efforts to raise interest rates.


➤NO MORE ROOM IN NYC: The mayor of New York traveled to the Mexican border city of El Paso on Sunday and declared that "there is no room in New York" for busloads of migrants being sent to America's most populous city. Eric Adams, a Democrat, was also critical of the administration of Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden, saying "now is the time for the national government to do its job" about the immigrant crisis at America's southern border. The visit of a New York mayor to a southern border city about the issue of immigrants is unprecedented. Busloads of migrants have been shipped north to New York and other cities by Republican run states. That has exacerbated a housing crisis in New York and a worsening homeless crisis in the city. Adams's trip to El Paso comes after he said the migrant influx into New York could cost the city as much as $2 billion, at a time when the city is already facing a major budget shortfall.

MORE VA SCHOOLS ADMIT WITHWOLDING MERIT RECOGNITION: Seven high schools in Fairfax County, Virginia have recently admitted to not informing their students of their prestigious national merit recognition. It caused students to miss important college scholarship and admissions deadlines. The high schools involved include Annandale, West Potomac, John R. Lewis, Edison, Thomas Jefferson for Science and Technology, Westfield, and Langley High. These seven schools alone account for 25 percent of the high schools in Fairfax County. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin expressed his concern about the impact it has on the students' ability to apply for scholarships and college admissions describing it as 'maniacal'. He also criticized Fairfax County's Superintendent for spending large sums of taxpayer money on equity consultants.

Daily Mail US 1/16/23

➤NOT SO FUNNY:
  Horror author Stephen King has apologized after jokingly tweeting that the recent House Speaker election was as agonizing as a vacation to Utica. The Misery writer, who is a frequent user on Twitter, with more than 7 million followers likened the industrial upstate New York city to the speakership debacle in which a vote to elect McCarthy to House Speaker took 15 attempts over multiple days. 'The Speakership is like that old joke: First prize is a week in Utica. Second prize is TWO weeks in Utica,' he joked. 

NY Post 1/16/23

➤AT LEAST 30 DEAD FROM RUSSIAN ROCKET ATTACK:
A survivor of Russia’s ruthless strike of a residential building in Ukraine was seen being pulled from the rubble after an attack that reportedly left her speechless. The harrowing scene played out hours after a missile hit the apartment building in the city of Dnipro. The death toll there has grown to at least 30 — with another 30 to 40 people that could still be trapped under the debris, regional governor’s advisor Natalia Babachenko said.   First responders were seen carrying a lightly-dressed woman to safety more than 18 hours after the attack. They used a ladder to help reach her before she was eventually carried from the building on a stretcher. The stunned woman can be seen in photos crouching down alone in shock and distraught — tightly holding onto a green stuffed animal and a string of gold decorations where her apartment used to be.

➤NASA CAPTURES STAR EATEN BY BLACK HOLE 300 MILLION LIGHT YEARS AWAY: NASA captured rare footage of a black hole eating up a star and creating a gas cloud that is as large as the solar system. The footage was captured by the Hubble after good luck placed the star collapsing closer to the telescope than is generally the case for such events.



➤SKIPPING MEALS AND SHORTER MEAL INTERVALS LINKED TO HIGHER MORTALITY RISK, CLAIMS STUDY:
The study which took into account 24,011 US adults over 40, claimed that having only one meal a day was linked to a higher mortality risk. Meanwhile, those who skip breakfast are at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease-associated death. Among participants with three meals per day, a meal interval of fewer than 4.5 hours in two adjacent meals was associated with higher all-cause mortality.

➤STUDY: SLEEPY CHILDREN CONSUME MORE JUNK FOOD:  A study from the University of Otago in New Zealand found children who sleep poorly also consume more junk food. Researchers found sleep-deprived children ate, on average, 96 more calories than their well-rested peers. Children who didn't sleep enough also ate more junk food if they lounged around, but ate healthier if they were active. The study analyzed data on 105 kids between the ages of 8 and 12. The team says running a bath and reading before bed are good ways to help kids get a good night's sleep. "Improving our sleep doesn’t usually come to mind first when we think of managing our weight," said Professor Rachael Taylor. "It might just be a good option." 

➤HOWARD STERN TERMED 'GERMAPHOBIA': “Real Time” host Bill Maher questioned whether he would ever get a chance to hang out with Howard Stern in the post-pandemic era during a frank discussion about the legendary shock jock’s germaphobia. Maher discussed his mercurial relationship with Stern – and their differing approaches to the COVID-19 pandemic – during a conversation with comedian Kevin Nealon on an episode of his “Club Random” podcast this month. The HBO star said he’s unsure whether Stern will “ever leave the house” due to his well-documented fear of being exposed to the virus. “I have a long, storied history, ups and downs with that man, and I find it so sad these days that I can’t see him because of the pandemic. We don’t agree on that,” Maher said. “Not that I think it has made us not like each other.” A years-long rivalry between the two broadcasters has cooled in recent years – to the point that Stern appeared live on set for an episode of “Real Time” in late 2019.

➤STUDY: DO EARBUDS CAUSE HEARING LOSS?  A new study published in BMJ Global Health found that one billion young people are at risk of hearing loss, and headphones may be partially to blame. Researchers examined 33 existing studies involving almost 20,000 participants. They found that 24% of people ages 12 to 34 listen to music too loudly on their devices, and 48% of them go to loud shows. People often turn music up as high as 105 decibles on their personal devices, which exceeds the permissible level of 75 for children and 85 for adults. According to their findings, up to 1.35 billion teens and young adults could be at risk of hearing loss.

🏀HOOPS STAR BUSTED: A University of Alabama basketball player was arrested for the shooting death of a woman near the Tuscaloosa campus early Sunday. Darius Miles (right), 21, was busted along with 20-year-old Michael Lynn Davis for allegedly opening fire at a car in an area near campus known as “The Strip” around 1:45 a.m., the local ABC News affiliate station reported. One of the passengers, 23-year-old passenger Jamea Jonae Harris, was struck by a bullet and died, cops said. One of the suspects was struck by a bullet and injured when someone in the other car opened fire. Investigators believed the two parties had gotten into a minor argument along The Strip before the bullets flew. Miles, who is from Washington DC, is a junior at the University of Alabama and played forward for the school’s basketball team. He was reportedly benched during the team’s game against Louisiana State University Saturday due to an ankle injury. The university kicked Miles off the team following the news of his murder arrest, it said in a statement.

⚾CUBS, FIRST BASEMAN MANCINI AGREE ON 2-YEAR-DEAL: Free agent first baseman Trey Mancini is in agreement with the Chicago Cubs on a two-year deal which includes an opt out clause after the first season. Mancini, 30, spent his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles before being traded last summer to the Houston Astros, where he played a part-time role in their run to the World Series title.

⚾TREVOR BAUER BECOMES FREE AGENT AFTER CLEARING WAIVERS: Trevor Bauer became a free agent on Friday after going unclaimed on waivers, leaving the Los Angeles Dodgers responsible for about $22.5 million owed to the former Cy Young Award winner.  Any team could sign the 2020 NL Cy Young Award winner for the major league minimum of $720,000. That would be offset against the $22,537,635 owed to Bauer by the Dodgers.

🏒SEATTLE KRAKEN CREATE NHL HISTORY, SWEEP ROAD TRIP OF SEVEN GAMES: An 8-5 victory on Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center gave the Seattle Kraken the distinction of being the first team in NHL history to sweep a road trip of at least seven games.

🏈SEAN MCVAY TELLS RAMS HE'S STAYING AS COACH: Sean McVay told the Rams he will remain the head coach in Los Angeles. The decision comes days after McVay said in his end-of-season news conference that he would be taking the "appropriate time" to make a decision on his future to figure out "the best way to continue to move forward in the right way to be the best coach that you can possibly be." The Rams are coming off a 5-12 season, McVay's worst losing campaign since he was hired in Los Angeles in 2017


🏈UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FOOTBALL PLAYER AND STAFF MEMBER KILLED IN CAR CRASH:
University of Georgia football player Devin Willock and football staff member Chandler LeCroy were killed in a single car crash early Sunday just hours after their team celebrated its national championship with a victory parade and celebration. Willock and LeCroy were among four people in the vehicle at the time of the crash, which happened around 2:45 a.m. on Sunday.



🏈NFL PLAYOFFS SCORES:

SATURDAY:
  • San Francisco 49ers 41 Seattle Seahawks 23
  • Jacksonville Jags 31 Los Angeles Chargers 30
SUNDAY:
  • Buffalo Bills 34 Miami Dolphins 31
  • New York Giants 31 Minnesota Vikings 24
  • Cincinnati Bengals 24 Baltimore Ravens 17


🏀NBA:
  • New York Knicks 117 Detroit Pistons 104
  • Los Angeles Clippers 121 Houston Rockets 100
  • Chicago Bulls 132 Golden State Warriors 118
  • Oklahoma City Thunder 112 Brooklyn Nets 102
  • Sacramento Kings 132 San Antonio Spurs 119
  • Denver Nuggets 119 Orlando Magic 116 
  • Portland Trailblazer 140 Dallas Mavericks 123
  • Philadelphia 76ers 113 vs Los Angeles Lakers 112


 

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