Thursday, January 26, 2023

Wake-Up Call: Air Raid Sirens Blare In Ukraine


Ukraine declared an air raid alert over the whole country early on Thursday and senior officials said air defences units were shooting down incoming Russian missiles, while fighting also intensified in Bakhmut in the east.

The attacks come after the United States and Germany announced plans to arm Ukraine with dozens of modern battle tanks in its fight against Russia, which denounced the decisions as an "extremely dangerous" step.  "The first Russian missiles have been shot down," Andriy Yermak, head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office said. Overnight, the military said its anti-aircraft defences had shot down all 24 drones sent by Russia, 15 around the capital, Kyiv. There were no reports of damage. Officials told the public to take shelter.

➤LOOKS LIKE TRUMP IS RETURNING TO FACEBOOK: Parent Meta said Wednesday it will restore former President Donald Trump ’s personal account in the coming weeks, ending a two-year suspension it imposed in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection. The company said in a blog post it is adding “new guardrails” to ensure there are no “repeat offenders” who violate its rules, even if they are political candidates or world leaders. “The public should be able to hear what their politicians are saying — the good, the bad and the ugly — so that they can make informed choices at the ballot box,” wrote Nick Clegg, Meta’s vice president of global affairs.

Clegg added that when there is a “clear risk” to real-world harm, Meta will intervene. “In the event that Mr. Trump posts further violating content, the content will be removed and he will be suspended for between one month and two years, depending on the severity of the violation,” he wrote. Facebook suspended Trump on Jan. 7, 2021, for praising people engaged in violent acts at the Capitol a day earlier. But the company had resisted earlier calls — including from its own employees — to remove Trump’s account.

➤TESLA REPORTS RECORD NET INCOME: Tesla on Wednesday posted record net income in the fourth quarter of last year, and the company predicted that additional software-related profits will keep its margins higher than any other automaker. The Austin, Texas, maker of electric vehicles and solar panels said it earned $3.69 billion from October through December, or an adjusted $1.19 per share. That beat estimates of $1.13 that had been reduced by analysts, according to FactSet. The company’s profit was 59% more than the same period a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter was $24.32 billion, which fell short of the $24.67 billion that analysts expected. CEO Elon Musk said that despite price cuts of up to 20% on some of its vehicles announced earlier this month, demand for Tesla products is strong and sales are constrained by production. Elon Musk’s team has held talks with investors about raising up to $3 billion to repay some of the $13 billion in debt tacked onto Twitter Inc. as part of his buyout of the company, people familiar with the matter said.

➤BOOSTER BENEFIT DOUBTFUL: Most Americans who get their bivalent booster vaccine are not protected against falling sick with Covid, official data suggests. A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released today found the updated shots were just 48 percent effective at stopping symptomatic infection caused by the XBB.1.5 subvariant for up to three months. The CDC highlighted that the main purpose of the vaccines is to prevent hospitalization and death rather than transmission, and they are still expected to give high protection against severe illness. But the findings mean the bivalent shots - which the US Government paid $5billion for last autumn - fall short of the World Health Organization's 50 percent efficacy threshold for an effective vaccine. When the original Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were developed in 2020, clinical trials indicated they could reduce rates of symptomatic infection by 95 percent. The shot slowly loss effectiveness as the virus continued to mutate, though.

➤STUDY...EXERCISE COULD PREVENT THE COMMON COLD IN KIDS: There's a no-cost solution to preventing kids from getting sick: Exercise! Research from the Medical University of Warsaw studied the exercise levels and respiratory tract infections of 104 children between the ages of four and seven. Their findings? For every 1,000 steps children took per day, the number of days they experienced cold symptoms decreased by four days. Children who participated in sports for three or more hours a week also saw a benefit over kids who did not regularly play sports. The study authors stress that further research is needed to determine a causal relationship.

➤POMPEO AGREES WITH McCARTHY BOOTING SCHIFF: Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday lauded House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s decision to kick Rep. Adam Schiff off the House Intelligence Committee, accusing the California Democrat of leaking classified information when he was on the panel. “Adam Schiff lied to the American people, and during my time as CIA director and secretary of State, I know that he leaked classified information that had been provided to him,” Pompeo alleged during an interview with Fox News. Pompeo, who served on the Intelligence Committee with Schiff when he represented Kansas in Congress, said that McCarthy (R-Calif.) was “exactly right” to boot the California Democrat, and he argued that Schiff’s tenure as chairman on the panel “almost ruined that committee.”  Pompeo added that as secretary of state, he was troubled by Schiff’s behavior and didn’t feel comfortable providing the intel committee information.

➤NEWPORT NEWS FIRES SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: The school board of Newport News, Virginia, voted last night to fire the school district’s superintendent. In the hours before an elementary school teacher was shot, school administrators were warned three times that a six-year-old boy was carrying a gun but failed to take action, a lawyer for the teacher said. The teacher is recovering from a gunshot wound to the chest.


➤HALF MOON BAY MASS SHOOTING SUSPECT CHARGED: A Chinese citizen has been charged with seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder for the mass shooting at a mushroom farm and another site in Half Moon Bay south of San Francisco. Police said the suspect, who is 66, intentionally targeted his victims, who had been his coworkers in the past.


➤GAS PRICES TRENDING UPWARDS: The average nationwide price for a gallon of gas rose to $3.42 this week. That’s 12 cents more than last week and 33 cents more than a month ago, according to AAA. The company noted that the price of crude oil has increased to $80 a barrel.


➤WINTER STORM DISRUPTS FLIGHTS: A winter storm in the Midwest forced the cancellation of 482 flights to, from, or within the U.S. yesterday. Once again, Southwest Airlines was the worst affected. Airports with the most canceled flights included Chicago, Indianapolis and Cleveland.

➤FIREBALL OR NOT FIREBALL? You may have noticed those 99-cent mini-bottles of Fireball Cinnamon at the checkout counter in convenience stores. Fireball Cinnamon is not to be confused with Fireball Cinnamon Whisky, which is sold in liquor stores and actually does contain whisky. The bottles are nearly identical, except for the omission of the word “whisky” on the convenience store bottles. That’s your clue that it’s actually a malt beverage with half the alcohol content. An Illinois woman is suing the maker of Fireball products, claiming customers are being intentionally misled.


🏈PATRICK MAHOMES IS READY TO PLAY: All-Pro quarterback Patrick Mahomes is back in practice with the Kansas City Chiefs and is raising expectations that a sprained ankle won’t stop him from playing in this weekend’s AFC title game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Mahomes was injured last Saturday during his team’s winning game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. By the way, Mahomes was named a finalist for MVP for the 2022 season in yesterday’s announcement by the NFL.

➤CHECK IT OUT: CBS Sports has the full list of finalists for the 2022 NFL Awards.


🏈OMENIHU STAYS IN THE GAME: San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Charles Omenihu is continuing to prepare for Sunday’s NFC Championship despite his arrest Monday on suspicion of minor misdemeanor domestic violence. Coach Kyle Shanahan said no decision on Omenihu’s status with the team would be made until the legal process plays out. San Jose police arrested Omenihu when a woman called them to report he’d pushed her to the ground during an argument.

🎾PEGULA KNOCKED OUT OF AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Jessica Pegula was defeated by Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-1, at the Australian Open on Tuesday. Pegula, the number 3 seed, was the highest-ranking American left in either women’s or men’s singles at the event.

🎾TOMMY PAUL ADVANCES TO SEMIFINALS: Tommy Paul just became the first American man to reach an Australian Open singles semifinal since Andy Roddick did it in 2009. Paul defeated Ben Shelton, also an American, 7-6 (6), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in yesterday’s quarterfinals.

🏀SALE OF PHOENIX SUNS AND MERCURY NEARS COMPLETION: The sale of the Phoenix Suns and the Phoenix Mercury for a record $4 billion is expected to be finalized soon, ESPN reports. The buyer is billionaire mortgage lender Mat Ishbia. The NBA board of governors is expected to ratify Ishbia’s purchase of the teams from Robert Sarver in early February. Sarver put the teams up for sale while on suspension for the season after an investigation into claims of workplace misconduct.

🏀BUCKS’ PORTIS ON INJURED LIST: Bobby Portis of the Milwaukee Bucks will be out for at least two weeks after suffering a sprained knee ligament. At least the Bucks got another guy back this week. Khris Middleton returned Monday after missing 18 games due to a knee injury.




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