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Thursday, February 9, 2023

Wake-Up Call: Voices Go Silent In Quake Zone


Rescue teams in Turkey and Syria continue to race against time to find earthquake survivors. More than 19,300 people are already confirmed dead with an unknown number still missing and hundreds of corpses being pulled from the wreckage every hour. The number of survivors has slowed to a trickle as rescue workers reach the crucial 72 hours that most disaster experts say is the most likely window to save lives. By Wednesday evening, the temperatures had dropped below freezing for the third night in a row. Snowstorms and bitter cold are hampering the rescue operation, which has been criticized for logistical problems, poor resourcing and slow response times. In some regions, survivors have waited days for aid to arrive—and in some cases watched helplessly as trapped family members’ cries for help eventually fell silent.

➤BIDEN DISMISSES AGE CONCERNS: President Joe Biden (left) dismissed concerns about his age ahead of an expected 2024 reelection campaign, citing his performance in Tuesday night’s State of the Union address. “Watch me. It’s all I can say,” Biden said Wednesday in an interview on PBS Newshour about questions some Democratic voters have about his health and fitness to handle another campaign and potential second term.  “It goes from one extreme to another, last night I heard people saying, ‘Well, just watch Biden, by God, age is not an issue any more,’ ” he added.  “I would be completely thoroughly honest with the American people if I thought there was any health problem, anything that would keep me from being able to do the job,” said Biden.  “We’ll see but I think people just have to watch me.” Biden, at 80, is already the oldest president in American history. He has said he intends to run for a second term, but has yet to officially announce a decision. He is expected to begin a campaign in the spring. 

➤FETTERMAN HOSPITALIZED: US Senator John Fetterman (right), who suffered a stroke while running for election in Pennsylvania last year, was hospitalized in Washington on Wednesday after feeling lightheaded. “Initial tests did not show evidence of a new stroke, but doctors are running more tests and John is remaining overnight for observation,” his communications director, Joe Calvello, said in a statement. Fetterman, 53, who attended President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address at the Capitol on Tuesday night, had gone to a Democratic Senate retreat on Wednesday. 

➤MEDICAL RULING..ABC NEWS PRODUCER WAS DRUNK: An ABC News producer who died after he left his kids at a hotel so he and his wife could go to a posh Midtown restaurant choked to death because he was drunk, officials revealed Wednesday. New York City’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner confirmed to The Post that Dax Tejera’s official cause of death was “asphyxia due to obstruction of airway by food bolus complicating acute alcohol intoxication.” Tejera, who was the executive producer of ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” died suddenly on Dec. 23 at 37. ABC News president Kim Goodwin had originally said Tejera died of a heart attack.

➤WALMART SHOOTER PLEADS GUILTY: More than three years after 23 people were shot dead in a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, the man who carried out the massacre pleaded guilty to 90 federal charges. The charges included hate crimes, as authorities determined that the shooter was a White supremacist who targeted Mexican immigrants. The plea by Patrick Crusius was part of an agreement in which prosecutors will recommend that he be sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences. He also will face state charges.

➤HALF OF AMERICANS ARE ‘WORSE OFF’: Half of Americans say their personal financial situation has gotten worse over the past year, according to a new Gallup poll. That is the worst level since May 2009, during the Great Recession. Only 35 percent say they are better off. Not surprisingly, lower-income Americans were most downbeat.

➤WHAT’S UP WITH THOSE CHINESE SPY BALLOONS? The Chinese spy balloon that was brought down by the U.S. military last Saturday was one of many such aircraft that China has been deploying all over the world, American military and intelligence officials told The New York Times. Their balloons have been spotted over Latin America, South America, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Europe. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that China “has violated the sovereignty of countries across five continents.” The aim is to find out more about the military capabilities of other nations, particularly the U.S., in case of any future conflict. They use balloons instead of satellites because balloons fly closer to the ground and can evade radar.



➤U-K MAY SEND ADVANCE FIGHTER JETS TO UKRAINE: The U.K. is considering sending advanced jets to Ukraine and will begin training Ukrainian pilots in coming months, a major victory for President Volodymyr Zelensky, who made a surprise visit to European allies Wednesday to lobby Western governments to provide more air power to counter a growing Russian offensive. Hours after Ukrainian leader Mr. Zelensky made an emotional plea to the British Parliament for more military aid, U.K. officials said that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had tasked his defense minister with analyzing which jets Britain may send, adding that no final decision had been made and that it could take a significant amount of time before pilots were fully trained.

➤A-I VIDEO GETS IT WRONG: Alphabet Inc lost $100 billion in market value on Wednesday after its new chatbot shared inaccurate information in a promotional video and a company event failed to dazzle, feeding worries that the Google parent is losing ground to rival Microsoft Corp. Alphabet shares slid as much as 9% during regular trading with volumes nearly three times the 50-day moving average. They pared losses after hours and were roughly flat. The stock had lost 40% of its value last year but rallied 15% since the beginning of this year, excluding Wednesday's losses.

➤TWITTER HICCUP: Twitter Inc.’s issues around posting and sending messages appeared to be mostly resolved Wednesday evening, after many users reported problems with basic functions on the platform.  The company didn’t respond to a request for comment. Earlier, Twitter confirmed that there were technical glitches that it was trying to address.  Many Twitter users said Wednesday afternoon they couldn’t post real-time tweets or send direct messages. Some users said they couldn’t follow accounts, and some said they received a message saying: “You are over the daily limit for sending Tweets.” Some said it worked if they scheduled tweets for at least a minute in the future.

➤$191 BILLION ERROR IN COVID PAYMENTS: The Labor Department’s internal watchdog unit estimates that $191 billion in unemployment benefits were sent out due to error or fraud while the program was expanded to cover losses due to Covid. The number is $30 billion more than previously estimated. In his State of the Union speech this week, President Joe Biden called for increasing the resources needed to track down the lost money and an increase in the statute of limitations on related fraud.

➤THIS COULD GET UGLY: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis hasn’t announced that he’s a candidate for the Republican nomination in 2024 but former President Donald Trump is going on the attack just in case. On his Truth Social site, Trump reposted an image of a young man who might or might not be DeSantis partying with a number of girls who looked like teenagers, at least one of whom was holding what might be a beer bottle. The image came with a message insinuating that DeSantis, a former high school teacher, was “grooming” girls. DeSantis brushed the matter off, saying that he has a “thick skin.”
  • The latest Yahoo News/YouGov poll says DeSantis would beat the former president among Republicans in a head-to-head race. However, if the race included other choices like Nikki Haley, Trump would take the lead.
😋AMERICANS ARE COMFORT EATING AS ANXIETY RISES: Americans are reaching for more salty snacks, and economic anxiety may be to blame. A report by Mintel shows the market for brands like Frito-Lay, Doritos, and Aunt Annie's pretzels are continuing to grow, despite inflation. Analysts suggests this is partially driven by the idea that snacks are "de-stressing" tools. 47% of millennials increased their consumption of chips, popcorn, and pretzels over the past year.  "As consumers continue to navigate stressful and evolving times, salty snacks can be there to help them slow down and even relieve stress," Kelsey Olsen said.

🏀LAKERS FINALIZING COMPLICATED DEAL FOR D’ANGELO RUSSELL: The Los Angeles Lakers are close to a complicated three-team deal to get the Minnesota Timberwolves’ D’Angelo Russell, plus Utah Jazz players Malik Beasley and Jarred Valderbilt, according to ESPN. The trade involves sending guards Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the Timberwolves. Russell Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones would go to the Utah Jazz.

🏈SO MUCH FOR A SAFER PRO BOWL: The Pro Bowl revamp designed to keep the players safe didn’t work out all that well for Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett. He dislocated a toe while climbing a wall during an obstacle course relay that was part of the game. Luckily surgery isn’t needed, and his recovery time is expected to be brief.

🏈A SUPER BOWL HISTORY NOTE: This Sunday’s Super Bowl will make history for at least one reason. The 57th Super Bowl will be the first to start with two Black players as quarterback. Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles and Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs are both finalists for the Associated Press Most Valuable Player award this year, with Mahomes favored to win. The NFL was integrated only in the 1950s. For many years after, Black players were overlooked for leadership positions.

🏈WELCOME BACK, DAMAR HAMLIN: Damar Hamlin, the young Buffalo Bills safety who suffered cardiac arrest during a game on January 2nd, made an appearance in Phoenix this week to accept an award for having a positive impact on his community. Separately, the NFL’s medical director said he is certain that Hamlin will return to play football. NFL Players Association Medical Director Thom Mayer made the bold prediction on the Sirius XM show Heart to Heart.



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